Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.67.

A number of research firms recently commented on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,167,033 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $126,940,000 after purchasing an additional 978,579 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 61.5% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $191,280,000 after purchasing an additional 943,372 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after buying an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $61,744,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.9 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $86.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $87.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.65.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.61%.

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.