Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Sells 255 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC trimmed its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,822 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,833 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,970 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $7,793,000 after purchasing an additional 6,223 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 130,810 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $10,096,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 22.6% in the third quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC now owns 7,457 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 18.1% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,787 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 corporate insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $76.13 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $80.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.40. The company has a market capitalization of $37.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, 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 current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion during 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%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CTSH shares. StockNews.com lowered Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. Bank of America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.44.

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.