Insider Selling: Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) CAO Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $80.73 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $82.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $77.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after buying an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $378,483,000 after purchasing an additional 94,209 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $363,153,000 after purchasing an additional 142,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.47.

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.