Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 226 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Wright Investors Service Inc. decreased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,069 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 226 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 7,445,089 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% in the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $205,096,000 after buying an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $146,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 129.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,904,263 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $139,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,666 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.14. 1,528,463 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,896,709. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.89 and a 200 day moving average of $71.40. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $80.27. The stock has a market cap of $38.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.44.

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.