Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 40,226 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 40,226 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.24% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $91,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $205,096,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000,996 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after buying an additional 1,943,127 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $146,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,236 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $122,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $126,940,000 after acquiring an additional 978,579 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CTSH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.47.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions 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 directly owns 39,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.06. 2,698,645 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,752,314. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $82.41. The company has a market cap of $39.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 26.55%.

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.