Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Receives $81.19 Consensus PT from Analysts

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.19.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $77.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $38.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $82.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.51.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,001 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 4,847 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.4% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,798 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 49,043 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 5,811 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,837 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.