Delta Financial Advisors LLC Sells 586 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,310 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 586 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vision Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,612 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.9% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 651 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 33.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 630 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.65.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $67.45. 1,414,893 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,295,988. The stock has a market cap of $33.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. 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 one year low of $58.09 and a one year high of $80.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.55.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.