State Street Corp Acquires 867,176 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

State Street Corp lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 5.04% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $1,928,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $378,483,000 after purchasing an additional 94,209 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $363,153,000 after buying an additional 142,225 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $329,452,000 after buying an additional 67,017 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $250,428,000 after buying an additional 44,129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CTSH. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,657,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,255,156. The company's 50-day moving average price is $77.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.14. The company has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

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.