Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Lowers Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.5% in the first quarter, selling 26,936 shares and leaving it with 255,186 shares valued at about $15.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: while some firms raised ratings, others cut price targets, and the stock currently carries a “Hold” consensus with an average price target of $64.26.
• Cognizant reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.40, maintained a 3.0% dividend yield, and authorized a $2 billion share buyback program covering up to 9% of its stock.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,186 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 26,936 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.05% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $15,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 165.1% in the 4th quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 342 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wedbush raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $56.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. HSBC cut their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.26.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $44.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $37.08 and a fifty-two week high of $87.03. The stock has a market cap of $21.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.60 and a 200-day moving average of $61.16.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

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

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.

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