Level Four Advisory Services LLC Grows Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,023 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 25,931 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 3,917 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $734,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26,662.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,694 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 20,701 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,598,000 after buying an additional 3,324 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $75.90 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The company has a market capitalization of $37.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a professional services company, provides consulting and technology, and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Financial Services, Health Sciences, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media and Technology.