ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Trims Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Key Points

• ICICI Prudential Asset Management cut its Cognizant stake by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, but the stock remains its largest holding, representing about 6.4% of the portfolio.
• Cognizant reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.40 per share and revenue of $5.41 billion, while also raising guidance for FY 2026 to 5.630-5.770 EPS.
• The company authorized a $2 billion share buyback and paid a $0.33 quarterly dividend, while analysts currently have a mixed view with an overall “Hold” consensus and a $73.50 target price.

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lessened its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 656,890 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 22,316 shares during the quarter. Cognizant Technology Solutions accounts for approximately 6.4% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd owned about 0.14% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $54,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $690,959,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at $201,834,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 801.4% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,104,276 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $141,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870,834 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 144.3% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,631,890 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $176,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $84,574,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $51.18 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.97 and a 200-day moving average of $67.87. The firm has a market cap of $24.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.81. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.48 and a 1-year high of $87.03.

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

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CTSH. Wedbush raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $56.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday. Dbs Bank reduced their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.50.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.