LSV Asset Management Trims Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,567,122 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 121,000 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.32% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $120,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $684,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 31,180 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $2,406,000 after buying an additional 4,869 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $422,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,022,728,000 after buying an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.8% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,172 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on CTSH shares. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.35. 886,945 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,593,631. The firm has a market cap of $35.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.99.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.