Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 3,098 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Private Advisor Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 49.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,181 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 3,098 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CTSH. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $83.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

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.