Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 617,520 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC cut its Cognizant stake by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 617,520 shares and leaving it with 2,729,915 shares worth about $226.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: recent rating changes include upgrades from Wedbush, but several firms lowered price targets. Overall, MarketBeat shows an average rating of Hold with a $72.50 price target.
• Cognizant reported solid results and shareholder returns, including quarterly EPS of $1.40 versus the $1.33 estimate, a 3.0% dividend yield, and a newly approved $2 billion share repurchase program.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,729,915 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 617,520 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.57% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $226,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 118.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 569 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 9,160 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 231.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 29,667 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 20,716 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 topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $60.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wedbush raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $56.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $88.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $74.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.50.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $43.70 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.40 and a 12 month high of $87.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.35 and a 200-day moving average of $66.75. The company has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.70%.

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

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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