ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 25,749 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 504,389 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 25,749 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $32,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 28,448 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,857,000 after buying an additional 4,066 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 416,924 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $25,403,000 after purchasing an additional 23,883 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.2% during the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 19,323 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 18,458 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $393,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $69.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $54.25 and a fifty-two week high of $72.71.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 21st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.66%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CTSH. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.94.

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.