Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 80.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 756 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 3,033 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $51,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,860,483,000 after acquiring an additional 7,445,089 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 373.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 76,159 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $5,752,000 after buying an additional 60,086 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,687,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $233,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CTSH. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $495,584.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.7 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $75.53 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, 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 fifty-two week low of $62.14 and a fifty-two week high of $80.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.33.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. 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 Company 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.