Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 58,373 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 45.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,957 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 58,373 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 44,129 shares during the period. ING Groep NV raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $214,141,000 after buying an additional 705,946 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $83.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,554,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,549,361. 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 company has a market cap of $41.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $81.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.98. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.67.

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.