Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,167,831 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 84,256 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $163,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes 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 valued at $5,070,000 after acquiring an additional 20,874 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.0% during 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 period. PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.8% during 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 period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% during 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 period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 532,677 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $39,242,000 after acquiring an additional 38,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $68.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.12 and a fifty-two week high of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $69.93 and its 200-day moving average is $72.84.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 10.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 28.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.67.

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.