Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) CAO Sells $400,550.00 in Stock

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CTSH traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $80.73. 1,814,052 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,782,629. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current 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 $82.41. The stock has a market cap of $40.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.06.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.47.

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.