Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stake Reduced by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 62,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Portfolio Design Labs LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $907,000. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 24,408 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,877,000 after buying an additional 6,808 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 63,309 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,698 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 2,738 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $88.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $88.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $79.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.84.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results 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%. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

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.