B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,983 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 701 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,045,823 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,254,178,000 after acquiring an additional 6,933,908 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,781,273 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $569,175,000 after purchasing an additional 101,078 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $378,483,000 after buying an additional 94,209 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $363,153,000 after buying an additional 142,225 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.5 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $76.00 on Tuesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $62.14 and a 52 week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $37.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.37.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Daiwa America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.44.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.