Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 13,908 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 202,770 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 13,908 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $15,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased 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. Susquehanna upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CTSH stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $80.65. 2,836,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,567,917. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The company's 50-day moving average price is $75.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company 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 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.