JLB & Associates Inc. Sells 2,262 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

JLB & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,019 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,262 shares during the quarter. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the third 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 acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $87.54 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.48.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. On average, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

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.