Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Stock: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 46.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,952 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 56,215 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 183.9% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Signature Equity Partners LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 102.4% during the 1st quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CTSH. Robert W. Baird set a $68.00 price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.17.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $63.75 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a twelve month low of $37.08 and a twelve month high of $87.03. The stock has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.