Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 181,904 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,879,143 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 181,904 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $452,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CTSH. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $76.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. 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 payout ratio is 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.