New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 51,435 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 984,026 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 51,435 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.20% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $74,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $67.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.58. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $58.09 and a twelve month high of $80.09.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CTSH. Mizuho began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, April 1st. Guggenheim started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.44.

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.