Boston Trust Walden Corp Cuts Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,689 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,250 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $9,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $271,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 232.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,583 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 61,700 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 123.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 421,495 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $28,662,000 after acquiring an additional 232,684 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,251 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.06.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of CTSH stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,193,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,122,718. The company has a market capitalization of $37.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $62.14 and a 1-year high of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.62.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion during 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%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.