CWA Asset Management Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,593 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $205,096,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $146,132,000 after buying an additional 1,281,236 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $122,603,000 after buying an additional 1,167,033 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $126,940,000 after buying an additional 978,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 61.5% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $191,280,000 after acquiring an additional 943,372 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $76.02 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $82.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.55%.

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.