Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 181,632 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 21,197 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $13,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,420 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alhambra Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,663 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 41,608 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,540 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 136,769 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $9,265,000 after purchasing an additional 20,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
CTSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Societe Generale reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.44.
Read Our Latest Report on Cognizant Technology Solutions
Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.6 %
NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.43 on Tuesday, reaching $67.77. The stock had a trading volume of 2,818,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,309,964. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $80.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.58.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.
Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions
In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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