Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Harbor Investment Advisory LLC

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,120 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 585 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $77.81 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.57. The company has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $82.46. 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 (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its 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 $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Mizuho upped 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.19.

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.