Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Sells 992 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC decreased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,764 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 992 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,678,000 after buying an additional 40,226 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $33,041,000 after buying an additional 144,535 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $33,568,000 after buying an additional 85,539 shares during the period. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,853,000 after buying an additional 17,134 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $83.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $81.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.19. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.