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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fourteen 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 analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.19.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CTSH. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH opened at $79.68 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.73 and a 200 day moving average of $76.73. 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 stock has a market cap of $39.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 142,225 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $329,452,000 after purchasing an additional 67,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $250,428,000 after purchasing an additional 44,129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.