John Sunshin Kim Sells 5,000 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $81.14 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $77.79 and its 200 day moving average is $74.02. 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 capitalization of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.06. 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 (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. State Street Corp grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $378,483,000 after acquiring an additional 94,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $363,153,000 after buying an additional 142,225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.47.

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.