Empirical Finance LLC Purchases 337 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,600 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,972,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.3% in the third quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 60,291 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,629,000 after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.5% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 135.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,305 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 19,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 907,902 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $70,072,000 after buying an additional 124,740 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CTSH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $77.11 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $82.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.85 and its 200-day moving average is $72.83. The stock has a market cap of $38.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.