Dearborn Partners LLC Trims Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Dearborn Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,089 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 834 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,441 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $82.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.23 and a 200-day moving average of $79.38.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upped 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. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

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.