Korea Investment CORP Sells 75,516 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Korea Investment CORP reduced its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 360,868 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 75,516 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.07% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $27,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CTSH. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.61. 564,084 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,833,829. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $82.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $37.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.