Causeway Capital Management LLC Sells 155,979 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Causeway Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 818,303 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 155,979 shares during the quarter. Cognizant Technology Solutions comprises about 1.4% of Causeway Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Causeway Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $62,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 worth $4,539,290,000 after purchasing an additional 515,881 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 157,464 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $857,205,000 after buying an additional 123,745 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,655,180 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $819,383,000 after buying an additional 287,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $527,719,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.44.

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Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $70.17 on Monday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $90.82. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $80.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.

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