Kintegral Advisory LLC Lowers Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Kintegral Advisory LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,039 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 514 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CTSH. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth $1,972,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $91,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40,226 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $33,041,000 after buying an additional 144,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,853,000 after buying an additional 17,134 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $84.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $41.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.61. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. On average, research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.