Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Hold” Rating for Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Needham & Company LLC restated their hold rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Societe Generale reaffirmed a sell rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $75.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $66.25 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.25. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a one year low of $60.26 and a one year high of $80.09. The company has a market capitalization of $32.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

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 that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 79.1% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 437 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

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.