Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.31 Per Share

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 0.31 per share by the information technology service provider on Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Cognizant Technology Solutions has increased its dividend by an average of 7.7% annually over the last three years. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a dividend payout ratio of 22.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to earn $4.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.2%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 4.2 %

CTSH opened at $87.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07. 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’s fifty day moving average is $79.31 and its 200 day moving average is $77.45. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $87.61.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% 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.