Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 62,191 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 282,122 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 62,191 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $23,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $690,959,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth $201,834,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 801.4% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,104,276 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $141,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870,834 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 144.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,631,890 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $176,521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $84,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $51.81 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.05. The stock has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.48 and a 12 month high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.41 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to purchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CTSH. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.50.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.