US Bancorp DE Sells 1,798 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

US Bancorp DE cut its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,781 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,798 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $6,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,443 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,433,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth $50,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 171,680 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $13,060,000 after purchasing an additional 11,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.3 %

CTSH stock opened at $83.74 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. Morgan Stanley raised 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

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.