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

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eighteen have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.37.

CTSH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,045,823 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,254,178,000 after acquiring an additional 6,933,908 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% during the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $205,096,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000,996 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $146,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,236 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $122,603,000 after buying an additional 1,167,033 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $74.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.02. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $62.14 and a fifty-two week high of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. 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.