Amundi Sells 1,673,634 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Amundi lowered its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 37.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,796,577 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,673,634 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $212,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,678,000 after acquiring an additional 40,226 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $33,041,000 after purchasing an additional 144,535 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $33,568,000 after buying an additional 85,539 shares during the period. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% during the 4th quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,853,000 after buying an additional 17,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.4 %

CTSH stock opened at $83.23 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.98 and a 200 day moving average of $79.28.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.