Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 19.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,779 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,164 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter worth about $40,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CTSH. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $76.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.33. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $62.14 and a fifty-two week high of $80.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 28.85%.

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.