Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Short Interest Update

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,900,000 shares, an increase of 11.2% from the June 30th total of 14,300,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.75.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of CTSH traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $74.54. 4,825,412 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,116,075. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1-year low of $62.14 and a 1-year high of $80.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.81 and a 200-day moving average of $71.86.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tobam grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 553.9% during the second quarter. Tobam now owns 14,359 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 12,163 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.3% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 441,477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $30,020,000 after buying an additional 55,128 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,129 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,777,000 after buying an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 23.3% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,334 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.8% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,015 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during 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.