Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,081,993 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 8,750 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.22% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $83,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth $1,972,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,678,000 after acquiring an additional 40,226 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $1,294,000. Matthews International Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 101,420 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $7,828,000 after purchasing an additional 11,349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $90.70 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.11. The firm has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.