Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Reduces Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC cut its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,588,685 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 109,422 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned 0.93% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $352,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CTSH. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $91,678,000 after acquiring an additional 40,226 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $33,041,000 after purchasing an additional 144,535 shares during the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $33,568,000 after acquiring an additional 85,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $3,853,000 after buying an additional 17,134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CTSH. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $2.88 during trading on Thursday, hitting $73.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 991,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,541,839. The company has a market capitalization of $36.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.49.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.