KBC Group NV Reduces Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

KBC Group NV lowered its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,855,511 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 494,693 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.37% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $143,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Personal Financial Services increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% during the second quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 34,893 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock opened at $82.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $76.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 26.55%.

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.