Caprock Group LLC Trims Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Caprock Group LLC lowered its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,529 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 451 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $78.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.15. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 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 firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Daiwa America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Mizuho raised 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 assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.47.

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.