Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Position Lowered by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank trimmed its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 107,339 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 5,906 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $8,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.8% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,634 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $155,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 665,305 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $51,348,000 after buying an additional 31,758 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,057 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 42,651 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $3,282,000 after buying an additional 2,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Susquehanna raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.87.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $77.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,584,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,579,945. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $38.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.51 and a 200 day moving average of $78.57. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.