Man Group plc Sells 6,119 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Man Group plc trimmed its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,977 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 6,119 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $8,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Unison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $81.44 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $40.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.00 and its 200 day moving average is $78.87.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.87.

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.