In a recent SEC filing, it was revealed that multinational financial services firm Natixis has increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by an astonishing 2,102.1% during the fourth quarter of this fiscal year. The increase translates to the ownership of an impressive 1,004,722 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, following a buyout of an additional 959,097 shares during the specified period. Valued at $57,460,000 at the end of the quarter, Natixis currently owns around 0.20% of Cognizant Technology Solutions.
Interestingly, in conjunction with this announcement came news related to dividend payouts for shareholders who owned CTSH stock on record by May 19th. A dividend payout worth $0.29 per share was released from funds accrued from profits made thus far into current investments; corresponding to a yearly total payout of $1.16 per share and an annual yield rate of roughly 1.79%. Currently boasting a payout ratio at just over one-quarter of its profits at 25.84%, investors in Cognizant Technology Solutions are receiving much-needed rewards as dividends.
On Thursday May 4th this year experts at HSBC upgraded their assessment on Cognizant Technology Solutions from “hold” status to “buy”, whilst predicting a price target for CTSH equity set at about $75 – which is slightly bullish compared to other market proactivity. Conversely however professional analysts such as BMO Capital Markets have recently displayed caution about putting too much stock in Cognizant Technology Solutions just yet as they have cut projections down from $73 earnings per share (EPS) down to only $70 EPS instead.
Bankers working for Bank of America Corporation have also taken extra-strategic steps as they have reduced CTSH’s price outlook even more than their competitors did – taking the price prediction from $59 EPS to just $55 EPS; demonstrating a true “hold” verdict according to industry insiders. Luckily, for those who have their faith firmly placed in the success of Cognizant Technology Solutions, current news suggests that there may be some bullish progress yet. With others such as StockNews.com and Wedbush both agreeing with HSBC’s buy-out sentiments and Wedbush predicting that CTSH will go up to about $75 per share, a surprise confident swing could emerge. Ultimately however, it seems most experts are currently settled on the notion of simply “holding” shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions – waiting on future opportunities and market shifts before making any rash decisions. According to Bloomberg.com data tracking, this is then reflected in the general consensus that has been reached regarding the stock thus far among major players in this marketplace. Currently deemed to be only a “Hold”, its average rating value is set at just over $68 per share.
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Changes in Hedge Fund Positions: Cognizant Technology Solutions’ Financial Overview
[stock_market_widget type=”chart” template=”basic” color=”#3946CE” assets=”CTSH” range=”1mo” interval=”1d” axes=”true” cursor=”true” range_selector=”true” api=”yf”]Cognizant Technology Solutions, the information technology service provider, has recently seen changes to its positions among several hedge funds. Credit Suisse AG boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 68.8% during Q4 2023 and now owns over one million shares valued at $75,502,000. Similar increases have been noted by Neo Ivy Capital Management and Victory Capital Management Inc. Institutional investors and hedge funds currently own 90.12% of the company’s stock.
In an attempt to strengthen its financial position it is reported that Cognizant’s Director Michael Patsalos-Fox sold 6,926 shares of the firm’s stock for a total value of $434,883.54 earlier in June leaving him with just over 64k shares valued at roughly $4m.
Cognizant Technology Solutions has also announced a quarterly dividend payment to shareholders resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.79%; this payout ratio currently stands at 25.84%.
Despite these changes, Cognizant Technology Solution’s market cap currently stands at $32.85 billion; while the company’s stock opened at $64.74 on Friday June 16th – compared to its 52-week high of $70.86 – it remains more than satisfactory offering “a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.10.” With revenue coming in higher than expected for Q1 in May (with net margin standing at just shy of 12% percent) it will be interesting to see how these initiatives will offer stability to both institutional investors’ portfolios and tech stakeholders alike as we approach Q2-end results which are expected towards the end of July.
