Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.19.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after buying an additional 867,176 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $363,153,000 after purchasing an additional 142,225 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $329,452,000 after purchasing an additional 67,017 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $250,428,000 after purchasing an additional 44,129 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.8 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $79.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $78.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

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.