Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Position Trimmed by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp lowered its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 81.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 65,969 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 297,828 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,704 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,617 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock opened at $88.43 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.42.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.61%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.