Cambridge Trust Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cambridge Trust Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 66.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 935 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.2% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,415,954 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,365,793,000 after buying an additional 473,809 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,196,547,000 after acquiring an additional 4,365,493 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.0% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,710,353 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $590,394,000 after buying an additional 93,518 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,056,248 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $544,942,000 after purchasing an additional 231,782 shares during the period. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 7,461,555 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $454,633,000 after acquiring an additional 424,988 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.94.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $67.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.51. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $80.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

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.