State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 14,985 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,763 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 14,985 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 13,197 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 155,050 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,798 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.30. 1,230,286 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,114,777. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $62.14 and a 52 week high of $80.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $67.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.24.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

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.