Ancora Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Ancora Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,706 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,424 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 7,445,089 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 532,677 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $39,242,000 after buying an additional 38,526 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.5% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $1,786,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.2 %

CTSH traded down $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,578,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,120,395. The company has a market capitalization of $37.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $62.14 and a twelve month high of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.85.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.75.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.