Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance trimmed its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,257 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 651 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $374,413,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 84.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,148,963 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $801,166,000 after buying an additional 6,027,057 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,551,475 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $203,107,000 after buying an additional 1,236,165 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,176,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $91,082,000 after purchasing an additional 704,932 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Guggenheim began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $67.54 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $80.09. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.55.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

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.