Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Shares Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC cut its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 48.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 487,076 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 466,145 shares during the period. M&G PLC owned about 0.11% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $27,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34,094.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 127,204 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $7,230,000 after acquiring an additional 126,832 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 26,367 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $179,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.0% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 39,778 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.17.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $63.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $28.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a one year low of $37.08 and a one year high of $87.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.70.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.09%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions is a professional services company that helps businesses use technology to modernize operations and develop digital capabilities. Its services include IT consulting, application development and maintenance, cloud and infrastructure services, data and artificial intelligence, engineering, and business process services.

The company serves clients across industries including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, communications, media, and retail. Its operations span North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with a significant global delivery network.

Cognizant was established in 1994 as a technology unit of Dun & Bradstreet and became an independent company in 1996.