Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,952 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 56,215 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,427 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 30,620 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Security National Bank of SO Dak increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% during the second quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 25,780 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 102.4% during the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 9,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $63.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.22. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $37.08 and a fifty-two week high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 11.75%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on CTSH shares. Robert W. Baird set a $68.00 target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Friday, October 9th. Mizuho set a $69.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.17.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions is a professional services company that helps businesses use technology to modernize operations and develop digital capabilities. Its services include IT consulting, application development and maintenance, cloud and infrastructure services, data and artificial intelligence, engineering, and business process services. The company serves clients across industries including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, communications, media, and retail. Its operations span North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with a significant global delivery network.