Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Sells 23,052 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. decreased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 629,550 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 23,052 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $46,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CTSH. IFG Advisory LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.1% during the fourth 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 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.8% in the 4th 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 lifted its position 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 valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,786,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.00. 1,501,187 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,417,661. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.13. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $62.14 and a 52 week high of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.44.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.