Qsemble Capital Management LP Sells 20,243 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Qsemble Capital Management LP reduced its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 82.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,332 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 20,243 shares during the quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,860,483,000 after purchasing an additional 7,445,089 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $406,360,000. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,861.7% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,686,597 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $127,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,621 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,083.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,422,912 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $107,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,000,658 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $151,104,000 after purchasing an additional 805,888 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $1.36 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.79. 2,635,058 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,078,186. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.85. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $62.14 and a 52-week high of $80.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.