Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp reduced its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,582 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,345 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $6,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 valued at $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,348,102 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $257,469,000 after purchasing an additional 103,371 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $83.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CTSH. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.