Cognizant Technology Solutions’ (CTSH) Hold Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

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

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH opened at $75.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.49. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The firm has a market cap of $37.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 25,931 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 3,917 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at $734,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 82,111 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $6,337,000 after purchasing an additional 9,131 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26,662.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,694 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.