Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,412,208 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 547,586 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.49% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $164,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 2.1 %

CTSH stock opened at $76.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $62.14 and a one year high of $80.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.40.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.