44 Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,037 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

44 Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,841 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,037 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $250,428,000 after purchasing an additional 44,129 shares during the period. ING Groep NV lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after buying an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $84.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $42.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.57. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.