Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Stock Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC lowered its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 48.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 487,076 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 466,145 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $27,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 925.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,652,358 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $141,456,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,205 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 289.6% during the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,905,584 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $166,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,159,704 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 761.3% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,859,134 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $106,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,271 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 752.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,317,166 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $80,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,580 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter valued at about $33,117,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $68.00 price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $69.00 price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $78.00 price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, October 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.17.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock opened at $63.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.45 and a 200-day moving average of $58.70. The company has a market cap of $28.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12-month low of $37.08 and a 12-month high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 11.75%. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 24.09%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions is a professional services company that helps businesses use technology to modernize operations and develop digital capabilities. Its services include IT consulting, application development and maintenance, cloud and infrastructure services, data and artificial intelligence, engineering, and business process services.

The company serves clients across industries including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, communications, media, and retail. Its operations span North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with a significant global delivery network.

Cognizant was established in 1994 as a technology unit of Dun & Bradstreet and became an independent company in 1996.