Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 766 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,647 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 766 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 867,176 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,348,102 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $257,469,000 after purchasing an additional 103,371 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $214,141,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.39.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $78.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.