Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 5,596 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,821 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 5,596 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $1,972,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 101,420 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $7,828,000 after buying an additional 11,349 shares during the period. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.3% during the third quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 60,291 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,629,000 after acquiring an additional 7,547 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 119,570 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $9,228,000 after purchasing an additional 6,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 907,902 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $70,072,000 after purchasing an additional 124,740 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. TD Cowen raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $80.06 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $82.41. The company has a market cap of $39.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

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.