QRG Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 196,011 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,257 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $15,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 978,579 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $191,280,000 after purchasing an additional 943,372 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 valued at $1,928,405,000 after purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,744,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in 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 during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of 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. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $83.99 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.87. The company has a market cap of $41.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

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