Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Position Lowered by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC reduced its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 36.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 6,747 shares during the period. Cognizant Technology Solutions makes up approximately 0.8% of Oak Thistle LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 67,119 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,070,000 after buying an additional 20,874 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,860,483,000 after purchasing an additional 7,445,089 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 532,677 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $39,242,000 after purchasing an additional 38,526 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $1,786,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $67.74. 2,127,080 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,130,169. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $80.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.13 and a 200-day moving average of $72.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.85%.

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.