Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock Holdings Decreased by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,467 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 25,171 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $433,254,000 after buying an additional 1,990,515 shares during the last quarter. AE Industrial Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,088,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.9% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,363,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,303,355 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $254,028,000 after buying an additional 1,068,420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,243,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,568,635. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% 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 Profile

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.