Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock Position Lowered by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. decreased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 36.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $31,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,860,483,000 after purchasing an additional 7,445,089 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $406,360,000. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% during the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $205,096,000 after buying an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after buying an additional 1,943,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,861.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,686,597 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $127,389,000 after buying an additional 1,600,621 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $77.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $62.14 and a one year high of $80.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.42. The company has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 11.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.44.

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.