Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 27.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,220,031 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 461,499 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.25% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $93,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.8% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 148,121 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $11,331,000 after buying an additional 5,390 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 10.8% in the first quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 12,506 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 16.8% in the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 80,490 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $6,155,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,059 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance
NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $80.63. The company had a trading volume of 625,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,557,965. The firm has a market cap of $39.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $76.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.
Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, May 19th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated 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. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.00.
View Our Latest Analysis on Cognizant Technology Solutions
About Cognizant Technology Solutions
(
Free Report)
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.
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