Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 38,843 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,807,628 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 38,843 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $215,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $80.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $82.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.57. The company has a market cap of $39.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.