Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Denali Advisors LLC

Denali Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,808 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,111 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $84.15 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.38 and a 200 day moving average of $78.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

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.