Mackenzie Financial Corp Has $7.62 Million Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,879 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 12,945 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 630 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH stock opened at $67.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.45 and a 200-day moving average of $72.51. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. Wolfe Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.94.

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.