Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,965 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 673 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Olympiad Research LP acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $1,038,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 61,132 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,701,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,688 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $84.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $90.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $81.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.73. The company has a market capitalization of $41.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CTSH shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.