Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Reduces Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC reduced its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,346 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 760 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter worth $1,687,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $233,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 147,345 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $10,799,000 after buying an additional 19,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 650,385 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $47,667,000 after buying an additional 53,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Daiwa America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $76.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,865,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,819,963. The company has a market capitalization of $38.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.39 and a 200 day moving average of $71.67. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $62.14 and a 12 month high of $80.27.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 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, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.