Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 19,113 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,348,955 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 19,113 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.27% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $104,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,045,823 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $4,254,178,000 after acquiring an additional 6,933,908 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% in 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 buying an additional 1,281,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew 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 valued at $122,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,033 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $81.20. 707,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,807,610. The company has a market cap of $40.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick 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 released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.