Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Position Reduced by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Yacktman Asset Management LP trimmed its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,060,519 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 555,266 shares during the quarter. Cognizant Technology Solutions comprises 3.7% of Yacktman Asset Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned 0.82% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $312,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CTSH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH stock traded up $0.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $90.49. The company had a trading volume of 2,539,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,059,705. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.60.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 26.61%.

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.