Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Andra AP fonden

Andra AP fonden trimmed its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 639,997 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 170,700 shares during the period. Cognizant Technology Solutions comprises 0.7% of Andra AP fonden’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $43,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 532,677 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $39,242,000 after acquiring an additional 38,526 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.5% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,786,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 373.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 76,159 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $5,752,000 after purchasing an additional 60,086 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $76.13 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $80.27. The company has a market capitalization of $37.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 11.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 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, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.85%.

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.