Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Sells 317 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,630 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 317 shares during the quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,539,290,000 after acquiring an additional 515,881 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,032,239,000 after acquiring an additional 157,464 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $857,205,000 after acquiring an additional 123,745 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,655,180 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $819,383,000 after acquiring an additional 287,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $527,719,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $79.99 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $75.11 and its 200-day moving average is $78.94. The company has a market capitalization of $39.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.