Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,942,016 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 245,029 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $161,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $260,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 84,637 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $7,025,000 after buying an additional 5,860 shares in the last quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 5,695 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $43.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.40 and a fifty-two week high of $87.03. The firm has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.91.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The company had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, May 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.