ING Groep NV Raises Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 943,372 shares during the period. Cognizant Technology Solutions comprises approximately 1.1% of ING Groep NV’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $191,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Personal Financial Services increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 34,893 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $81.18. 478,316 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,806,459. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $82.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.74 and a 200 day moving average of $72.70. The company has a market cap of $40.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during 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 was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s 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.