Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 913,475 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 142,093 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.18% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $70,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 136.8% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 7,504 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 4,335 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 85.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 53,272 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,097,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $88.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.61%.

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.