Man Group plc Cuts Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Man Group plc trimmed its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,977 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 6,119 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $8,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $4,539,290,000 after acquiring an additional 515,881 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,032,239,000 after acquiring an additional 157,464 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $857,205,000 after acquiring an additional 123,745 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,655,180 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $819,383,000 after acquiring an additional 287,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $527,719,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.0%

CTSH traded down $0.78 on Friday, reaching $79.12. 2,243,101 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,575,497. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.00. The company has a market cap of $39.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally 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 will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. 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.