Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Holdings

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 15.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,292,115 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 234,783 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.29% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $74,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,404,918 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $392,947,000 after buying an additional 222,819 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 6,177,881 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $379,013,000 after acquiring an additional 520,532 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 27.2% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,471,681 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $213,004,000 after acquiring an additional 742,466 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 289.6% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,905,584 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $166,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,159,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,442,902 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $149,872,000 after purchasing an additional 500,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $63.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $28.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.45 and a 200-day moving average of $58.70. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.08 and a 1-year high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 24.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. Mizuho set a $69.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up from $54.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Needham & Company LLC set a $78.00 price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.17.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.

Cognizant was established in 1994 as a technology unit of Dun & Bradstreet and became an independent company in 1996.

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