Dearborn Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,923 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 725 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter worth about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $77.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.75. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $82.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CTSH shares. Mizuho upped their price objective 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.