Arbor Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $728,000 in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Arbor Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,636 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $728,000. Cognizant Technology Solutions accounts for 0.7% of Arbor Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.6 %

CTSH stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.77. 2,818,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,309,964. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.58. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.44.

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.