Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,700 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,276,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,650 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,357,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $75.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12 month low of $65.52 and a 12 month high of $90.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.80.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

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.