Perpetual Ltd Trims Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Perpetual Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 238,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,062 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $18,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,837 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 16.3% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 22,391 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 3,132 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.3% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 26,613 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,671 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 31,833 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $77.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.93 and its 200 day moving average is $76.57. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $82.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.