Birch Capital Management LLC Purchases 6,387 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Birch Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,246 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,387 shares during the quarter. Cognizant Technology Solutions makes up 1.6% of Birch Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on CTSH shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.71. 653,212 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,162,476. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.94 and a 200-day moving average of $76.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $82.46. The stock has a market cap of $37.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.