National Pension Service Has $66.15 Million Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

National Pension Service decreased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 860,158 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 47,744 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.17% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $66,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CTSH. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth $1,972,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40,226 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $33,041,000 after purchasing an additional 144,535 shares during the period. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CTSH. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH opened at $83.99 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.87.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.