Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 633 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,148 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 633 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 48,552 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,558,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Personal Financial Services boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 34,893 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $74.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $62.14 and a twelve month high of $80.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.77.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Bank of America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.58.

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.