Alberta Investment Management Corp Has $2.07 Million Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp reduced its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation by 59.0% during the first quarter, selling 38,892 shares and bringing its total to 27,077 shares valued at approximately $2.07 million.
• Cognizant reported strong quarterly earnings, with $1.31 EPS beating expectations and 8.1% year-over-year revenue growth, totaling $5.25 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31, with an annualized yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 25.20%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp trimmed its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 59.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,077 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 38,892 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 68,212 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $5,218,000 after buying an additional 4,542 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 763,756 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $58,427,000 after buying an additional 53,385 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 7,641 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 31,250 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $2,390,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $1,257,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started 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 for the company. 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 research note on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,866,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,833,565. The stock has a market cap of $34.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a one year low of $65.52 and a one year high of $90.82. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $77.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.40.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The company 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 for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.20%.

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.