National Pension Service Sells 47,744 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 860,158 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 47,744 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.17% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $66,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on 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. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock traded down $0.64 during trading hours 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's 50 day simple moving average is $81.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.01. The company has a market capitalization of $41.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two 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.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.