Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 40,885 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lowered its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 634,347 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 40,885 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $48,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,539,290,000 after purchasing an additional 515,881 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in 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 buying an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,032,239,000 after acquiring an additional 157,464 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $527,719,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $433,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990,515 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $68.74 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $82.21 and its 200 day moving average is $79.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The company has a market capitalization of $34.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CTSH. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.56.

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.