Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Rating) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,130 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.'s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,692,149 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $3,828,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068,699 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,086,842 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $2,048,265,000 after acquiring an additional 452,967 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,470,671 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,566,595,000 after acquiring an additional 398,230 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 40.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,251,722 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,098,612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,537,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,619,591 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $952,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, Director Zein Abdalla sold 4,368 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.44, for a total value of $285,841.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,556 shares in the company, valued at $887,104.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 27th. The information technology service provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.74% and a return on equity of 19.36%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is presently 25.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 28th. Cowen lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 28th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $89.00 to $76.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 28th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "downgrade" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.13.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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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; Healthcare; Products and Resources; and Communications, Media and Technology.

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