Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 11,371 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,776 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 11,371 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 118.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 569 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the first quarter worth about $142,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.4% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 9,160 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 231.4% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 29,667 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 20,716 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Berenberg Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $107.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH opened at $51.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization 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 quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.51. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a twelve month low of $45.48 and a twelve month high of $87.03.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.