Voloridge Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 43.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,639 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 77,088 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,876 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 19,931 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Inv LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 13,151 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,011,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares in 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 brokerages have recently issued reports on CTSH. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.37. 444,860 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,560,436. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $75.29 and a 200-day moving average of $78.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. The business's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.