Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 217,765 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 7,962 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $14,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,860,483,000 after purchasing an additional 7,445,089 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $406,360,000. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,861.7% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,686,597 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $127,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600,621 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,083.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,422,912 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $107,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 129.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,904,263 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $139,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.61.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $77.14 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $62.14 and a 1-year high of $80.27.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.85%.

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.