Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CTSH. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $88.08 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.84. The firm has a market cap of $43.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $88.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.61%.

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.