Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 16,981 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 478,805 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 16,981 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $36,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 67,119 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,070,000 after purchasing an additional 20,874 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.0% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,227,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $83,145,000 after acquiring an additional 324,638 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.8% in the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 74,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,041,000 after acquiring an additional 26,035 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 704,932 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, Societe Generale reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Friday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.25. 7,399,745 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,378,565. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $72.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.47. The stock has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $60.26 and a one year high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.64% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.