Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Receives $80.35 Average Price Target from Analysts

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.35.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,972,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $91,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40,226 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 101,420 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $7,828,000 after buying an additional 11,349 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 60,291 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,629,000 after buying an additional 7,547 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 119,570 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $9,228,000 after buying an additional 6,626 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $79.49 on Monday. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $82.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.72 and its 200 day moving average is $75.31. The company has a market cap of $39.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

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.