Moors & Cabot Inc. Acquires New Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,346 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $79.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.28. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.47.

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.