Marco Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Marco Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,945 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,860,483,000 after buying an additional 7,445,089 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $406,360,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,861.7% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,686,597 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $127,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,083.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,422,912 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $107,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,755 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $76.55 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.47. The company has a market capitalization of $38.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 11.39%. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

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.