Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,579,300 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 53,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $119,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% during 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 buying an additional 4,365,493 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,056,248 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $544,942,000 after acquiring an additional 231,782 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,177,547 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $418,467,000 after purchasing an additional 294,415 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,042,016 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $206,066,000 after purchasing an additional 28,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,680,009 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $113,804,000 after purchasing an additional 58,422 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday. Societe Generale reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $66.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.25. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $60.26 and a 12 month high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.85%.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.