Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Purchases 147,511 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 118.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 271,533 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 147,511 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.05% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $20,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $968,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.8% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,172 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,022,728,000 after buying an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at $341,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 10.1% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 50,681 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $4,093,000 after buying an additional 4,634 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $80.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,869,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,756,703. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.39. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $82.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $39.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 39,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CTSH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.47.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.