Cognizant Technology Solutions’ (CTSH) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Wedbush restated their outperform rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $85.00 price objective on the information technology service provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Guggenheim started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a neutral rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $75.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $66.25. The company had a trading volume of 7,399,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,943,487. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $60.26 and a fifty-two week high of $80.09. The firm has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.46.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,860,483,000 after acquiring an additional 7,445,089 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $406,360,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,196,547,000 after buying an additional 4,365,493 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,861.7% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,686,597 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $127,389,000 after buying an additional 1,600,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,083.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,422,912 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $107,473,000 after buying an additional 1,357,755 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

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.