Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from 19 brokerages, with 13 holding and 6 rating the stock as a buy.
• The average 12-month target price for the company's stock is $85.88, reflecting moderate expectations among analysts.
• Cognizant announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, which represents an annualized payout of $1.24 and a yield of 1.7%.

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $85.8824.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,607 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 973 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,747,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 5,878 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $857,205,000 after acquiring an additional 123,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $71.26 on Tuesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a twelve month low of $65.52 and a twelve month high of $90.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $35.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.90. The company's fifty day moving average is $77.78 and its 200-day moving average is $78.57.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.89% and a return on equity of 16.77%. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.20%.

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.

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