Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 45.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,957 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 58,373 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after buying an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,022,728,000 after acquiring an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $250,428,000 after acquiring an additional 44,129 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $224,694,000 after acquiring an additional 443,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $214,141,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $84.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $41.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.84. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 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.