Boston Partners Lowers Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Boston Partners cut its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,680,195 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 376,053 shares during the quarter. Cognizant Technology Solutions accounts for about 0.8% of Boston Partners' investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Boston Partners owned 1.53% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $580,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. IFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 67,119 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $5,070,000 after purchasing an additional 20,874 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.0% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,227,411 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $83,145,000 after buying an additional 324,638 shares during the period. PGGM Investments raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.8% in the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 74,411 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $5,041,000 after acquiring an additional 26,035 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,825,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,931,327. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $61.12 and a 1 year high of $80.09. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $71.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.56. The company has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 28.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.