Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 22.5%, now holding 23,024 shares valued at approximately $1.76 million.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. significantly increased its stake by 117.5%, acquiring an additional 3.68 million shares, now totaling nearly 6.8 million shares worth $520.65 million.
• Cognizant Technology Solutions reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.31, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of $5.25 billion for the recent quarter.

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 22.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,024 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 6,687 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 117.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,805,893 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $520,651,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677,145 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,585.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,776,601 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $135,910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,710,433 shares during the last quarter. AE Industrial Partners LP acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $113,088,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,742,442 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $210,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,303,355 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $254,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068,420 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $70.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $34.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.90. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 1-year low of $65.52 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $77.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.46.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.89% and a return on equity of 16.77%. The company's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 25.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Susquehanna raised shares of 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. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.88.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.