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

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,141 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 638 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CTSH shares. StockNews.com cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.58.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $74.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. 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 $37.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 11.39%. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.