Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 2,236 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co cut its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,853 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,236 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 826,300 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $63,113,000 after acquiring an additional 62,437 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $131,000. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,555,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,547,081 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $118,971,000 after purchasing an additional 243,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,920,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 2.2 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $75.90 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.68 and a 200 day moving average of $79.47. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $37.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.56.

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.