Yacktman Asset Management LP trimmed its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,173,699 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 184,374 shares during the period. Cognizant Technology Solutions comprises about 3.6% of Yacktman Asset Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned 1.03% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $390,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,196,547,000 after acquiring an additional 4,365,493 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,176,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $91,082,000 after acquiring an additional 704,932 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 432.9% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 608,068 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $41,191,000 after acquiring an additional 493,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,569,664 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $106,330,000 after acquiring an additional 483,269 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down previously from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Guggenheim started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.13.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CTSH
Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions
In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance
Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.94. 2,818,903 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,280,442. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The firm has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $58.47 and a 52 week high of $80.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.50.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is presently 28.57%.
About Cognizant Technology Solutions
(
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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