Perpetual Ltd Sells 7,807 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Perpetual Ltd cut its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 230,531 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 7,807 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $17,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $77.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market cap of $38.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $78.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.89. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The company's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CTSH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.