Selway Asset Management Sells 1,010 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Selway Asset Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,525 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,010 shares during the period. Selway Asset Management’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $433,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990,515 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after buying an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,539,290,000 after buying an additional 515,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.4 %

CTSH stock opened at $76.73 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.57 and a 200-day moving average of $79.49. The company has a market capitalization of $37.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current 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 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.56.

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.