Calamos Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Calamos Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,595 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,823 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $10,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 65,261 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 216,908 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $16,383,000 after buying an additional 18,688 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 16,995 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 79,030 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $5,969,000 after buying an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 342,215 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $25,847,000 after acquiring an additional 63,027 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Societe Generale reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $67.44 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $58.09 and a one year high of $80.09. The firm has a market cap of $33.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

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.