Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $126.94 Million Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 146.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 978,579 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.33% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $126,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,781,273 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $569,175,000 after acquiring an additional 101,078 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $378,483,000 after acquiring an additional 94,209 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $363,153,000 after purchasing an additional 142,225 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $329,452,000 after purchasing an additional 67,017 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CTSH. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Daiwa America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $81.06 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $82.41. The firm has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.13 and a 200-day moving average of $73.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 26.55%.

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.