Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Has $2.60 Million Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,655 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 950 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $81.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $82.41. The stock has a market cap of $40.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.02 and a 200-day moving average of $74.34.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.