Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,620 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,663 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,502 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.9% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 933 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 77.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,772 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 12,118 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $77.81 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $78.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $82.46.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.19.

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.