Bard Financial Services Inc. Lowers Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Bard Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,000 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 4,180 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Unigestion Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 148.6% during the third quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 10,256 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 6,131 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 118.9% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 271,533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $20,957,000 after purchasing an additional 147,511 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $968,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.8% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,172 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $81.25 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $78.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.34. 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 $40.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 2.24 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 data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.