Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock Holdings Lowered by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,974 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 10,499 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $13,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,938 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,609,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 280,064 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $21,537,000 after acquiring an additional 89,342 shares in the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 9,120 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $7,226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CTSH shares. Susquehanna upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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 research report on Friday, April 25th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.99. The company had a trading volume of 8,655,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,597,009. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82. The stock has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, 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. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $75.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.99.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.