Kathmere Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,416 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 486 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after buying an additional 867,176 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings 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 worth $363,153,000 after acquiring an additional 142,225 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $329,452,000 after purchasing an additional 67,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $250,428,000 after purchasing an additional 44,129 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.8 %

CTSH opened at $77.78 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $82.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 transaction 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. The trade was 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 through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.19.

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.