Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp cut its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 44.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,676 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 50,584 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 97,310.2% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 11,012,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $718,878,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,918 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $374,413,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 84.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,148,963 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $801,166,000 after buying an additional 6,027,057 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 211.3% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,172,703 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $375,901,000 after acquiring an additional 4,189,677 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,917,510 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $604,274,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,452 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. StockNews.com started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.94.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $68.72. 693,352 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,788,851. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $54.25 and a fifty-two week high of $72.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 10.75%. The company had revenue of $4.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 20th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.22%.

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.