Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,934 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,507 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,934 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 665,305 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $51,348,000 after purchasing an additional 31,758 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 107,505 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $8,267,000 after acquiring an additional 6,535 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 539.2% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,208 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $79.16 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $39.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.23 and a 200-day moving average of $78.65.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Susquehanna raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.87.

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.