Natixis Lowers Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Natixis lowered its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 59.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 606,879 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 879,867 shares during the period. Natixis owned 0.12% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $46,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,634 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $155,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $91,678,000 after buying an additional 40,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 665,305 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $51,348,000 after buying an additional 31,758 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CTSH. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group cut 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.53.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $0.95 on Thursday, hitting $71.98. 1,193,246 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,593,677. The company has a market capitalization of $35.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.