New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,055,568 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 77,996 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.21% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $81,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter worth $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. 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 target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Daiwa America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $0.02 on Friday, reaching $74.61. The company had a trading volume of 4,101,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,827,082. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $76.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.02. The firm has a market cap of $36.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $62.14 and a 52-week high of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

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.