Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 78,507 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 38,911 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 67,119 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $5,070,000 after purchasing an additional 20,874 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.0% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,227,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $83,145,000 after acquiring an additional 324,638 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.8% in the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 74,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,041,000 after acquiring an additional 26,035 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 704,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $66.25 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $60.26 and a 1 year high of $80.09. The firm has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.63.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.