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

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.35.

CTSH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target 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 reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTSH. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $378,483,000 after purchasing an additional 94,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $363,153,000 after buying an additional 142,225 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $79.23 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $82.46. The company has a market cap of $39.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $78.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted 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. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid 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 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.