Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Stock Holdings Lessened by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 20.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,518,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,693,289 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $399,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 159.6% in the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 120,461 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $7,390,000 after buying an additional 74,062 shares during the period. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at $394,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 90.9% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,138.8% during the 1st quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 38,738 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,377,000 after acquiring an additional 35,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,404,918 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $392,947,000 after acquiring an additional 222,819 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $43.63 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.32. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a twelve month low of $37.08 and a twelve month high of $87.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.87.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, May 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to buy up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $55.00 price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $72.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $88.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.26.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.