Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Short Interest Up 11.6% in November

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,960,000 shares, a growth of 11.6% from the November 15th total of 16,090,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Daiwa America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter worth $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $80.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.34 and a 200-day moving average of $74.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

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.