Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA Sells 137 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA trimmed its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,971 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $924,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter worth $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $74.82 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $80.27.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 28.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.58.

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.