WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $4.83 Million Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,765 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 4,087 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $122,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,033 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $126,940,000 after buying an additional 978,579 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 61.5% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $191,280,000 after acquiring an additional 943,372 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,744,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $90.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.00.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 1.37%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.61%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

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.