Swedbank AB Decreases Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Swedbank AB decreased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 223,800 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 34,009 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $17,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $82.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $83.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.18.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CTSH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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. Mizuho boosted their target price 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned 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 $81.12.

Insider Activity

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.