Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Raised to “Overweight” at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Barclays currently has $95.00 target price on the information technology service provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $80.00.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $79.49 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $82.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.90.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

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.