Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Sells 5,913 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 17.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,152 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 5,913 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 64,111 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,684 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $227,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Burney Co. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 13,344 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CTSH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $80.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.45 and a 200-day moving average of $73.70. The company has a market cap of $39.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during 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 17.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

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.