Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Hold Rating for Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

CTSH has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 2.2 %

CTSH stock opened at $75.90 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.