Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd decreased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,601 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 27,338 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $11,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted 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 worth $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,781,273 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $569,175,000 after buying an additional 101,078 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $378,483,000 after buying an additional 94,209 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $363,153,000 after acquiring an additional 142,225 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $329,452,000 after acquiring an additional 67,017 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $80.67. 965,630 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,825,260. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $40.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $82.41. The stock's 50-day moving average is $77.03 and its 200-day moving average is $73.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

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

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.