Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV reduced its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation by 1.9%, selling 56,195 shares and retaining 2,865,705 shares, making it their 14th largest holding.
• Cognizant recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.31 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $5.25 billion, representing an 8.1% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a $0.31 quarterly dividend, scheduled for payment on August 26th, which results in an annual yield of 1.8% for shareholders.

ING Groep NV trimmed its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,865,705 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 56,195 shares during the period. Cognizant Technology Solutions comprises 1.5% of ING Groep NV's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.58% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $219,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 10,162 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 6,451 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $742,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,876,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,542 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CTSH. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.88.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of CTSH traded up $1.00 on Wednesday, hitting $70.90. 4,800,929 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,047,629. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's 50 day moving average is $77.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.51. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 1 year low of $65.52 and a 1 year high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.