Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Sells 760 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 18.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,346 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 760 shares during the quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,226 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 48,552 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,558,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $76.87. 1,865,871 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,819,963. The company has a market cap of $38.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $76.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.67. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $62.14 and a 52-week high of $80.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.