Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,300 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $77.81 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.98 and a 200-day moving average of $76.39. 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 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $82.46. The company has a market cap of $38.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.19.

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.