Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 912 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 94,909 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 912 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,365,493 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,176,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position 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 valued at $91,082,000 after purchasing an additional 704,932 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 432.9% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 608,068 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $41,191,000 after purchasing an additional 493,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,569,664 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $106,330,000 after purchasing an additional 483,269 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.4 %

CTSH opened at $67.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $33.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $73.94 and a 200-day moving average of $72.55. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $80.09.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CTSH. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Societe Generale restated a “sell” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Friday, January 5th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.