Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.65.

CTSH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $67.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.58. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $58.09 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 79.1% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 437 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.