Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 44.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,249 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 987 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $96,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $74.86 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $62.14 and a twelve month high of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market cap of $37.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.77.

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 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 firm had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.58.

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.