CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 91,743 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 957,902 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 91,743 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.19% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $73,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $4,539,290,000 after buying an additional 515,881 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,032,239,000 after acquiring an additional 157,464 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $857,205,000 after acquiring an additional 123,745 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,655,180 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $819,383,000 after purchasing an additional 287,973 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $527,719,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $84.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH opened at $69.44 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $79.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.88. 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 $34.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. As a group, analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

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

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.

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