JLB & Associates Inc. Sells 2,262 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

JLB & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,019 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,262 shares during the quarter. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 173,667 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $250,428,000 after purchasing an additional 44,129 shares during the period. ING Groep NV increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 443,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $214,141,000 after buying an additional 705,946 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.0 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $87.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.