Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Shares Sold by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its Cognizant Technology Solutions stake by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 346,835 shares and leaving it with 866,885 shares valued at about $71.95 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed: analysts currently have an average “Hold” rating on CTSH with a consensus target price of $73.50, though Wedbush recently upgraded the stock to Outperform.
• Cognizant reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $1.40 EPS topping estimates and revenue rising 5.8% year over year, while also announcing a $2 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund decreased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 866,885 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 346,835 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.18% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $71,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 165.1% in the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 342 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 85.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 370 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (down from $71.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $87.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wedbush raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.50.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $52.17 on Monday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12-month low of $45.48 and a 12-month high of $87.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.71.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions NASDAQ: CTSH is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

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