Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 4,051 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 78,820 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 4,051 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vision Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,612 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position 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 worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $66.76 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $73.72 and a 200 day moving average of $72.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $80.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid 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 yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Societe Generale restated a “sell” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Citigroup cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.44.

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.