Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 913,475 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 142,093 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $70,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CTSH. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $122,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,033 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $126,940,000 after acquiring an additional 978,579 shares during the period. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $191,280,000 after acquiring an additional 943,372 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $61,744,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $88.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho raised their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.