Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Lowers Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 29.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,056 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 10,545 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% in the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $205,096,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $146,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,236 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $122,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $126,940,000 after purchasing an additional 978,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH stock opened at $80.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $82.41. The company has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $77.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.26.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was 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 directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.