Banco Santander S.A. Buys New Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,659 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $205,096,000 after buying an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during 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 period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $146,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,236 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $122,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,033 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 129.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,904,263 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $139,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Daiwa America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $79.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.98 and a 200 day moving average of $73.28. 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 company has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $82.41.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.