Ieq Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Ieq Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 81.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,545 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 23,828 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $126,940,000 after buying an additional 978,579 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 61.5% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $191,280,000 after purchasing an additional 943,372 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after purchasing an additional 867,176 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth about $61,744,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. 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 Price Performance

CTSH traded down $0.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.98. The company has a market cap of $41.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.