Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 73,838 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,199,803 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 73,838 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $92,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $4,539,290,000 after purchasing an additional 515,881 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,032,239,000 after acquiring an additional 157,464 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $857,205,000 after acquiring an additional 123,745 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,655,180 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $819,383,000 after purchasing an additional 287,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $527,719,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $0.41 on Monday, hitting $72.58. 3,363,923 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,602,479. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company's 50 day moving average price is $76.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.67. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. 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 dividend yield of 1.71%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.67.

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.