Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.0% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,227,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $83,145,000 after purchasing an additional 324,638 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.8% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 74,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,041,000 after purchasing an additional 26,035 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 69.3% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,368,034 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $295,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788,329 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $91,082,000 after purchasing an additional 704,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 237.3% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 62,264 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after purchasing an additional 43,806 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $73.29. 11,104,783 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,462,871. The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The company has a market capitalization of $36.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $58.09 and a 1 year high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.38.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.