Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by United Services Automobile Association

United Services Automobile Association lessened its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,765 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 3,006 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.5% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 786 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CTSH. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Mizuho upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. One 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, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $81.15 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.18. The stock has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $82.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

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