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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Rating) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.58.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Bank of America cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 651 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 393 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 5,512 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 10,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 90.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $57.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.89. The company has a market capitalization of $29.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 2.17. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1-year low of $51.33 and a 1-year high of $93.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The information technology service provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 17th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.24%.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

(Get Rating)

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. engages in the provision of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services. It operates through the following business segments: Financial Services, Healthcare, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media, and Technology. The Financial Services segment consists of banking and insurance services.