Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp cut its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 81.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,969 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 297,828 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Creative Planning lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,423 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $3,429,000 after buying an additional 3,518 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.8% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,972 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 163.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,171 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 248,135 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $19,151,000 after purchasing an additional 30,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth $340,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CTSH. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 3.1 %

CTSH traded down $2.72 on Friday, hitting $84.82. The company had a trading volume of 6,336,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,445,917. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.61. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. 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 market capitalization of $41.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.