Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Price Target Cut to $75.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays from $80.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the information technology service provider's stock. Barclays's price target suggests a potential upside of 12.04% from the company's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wolfe Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.13.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of CTSH traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.94. 2,818,903 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,280,442. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a twelve month low of $58.47 and a twelve month high of $80.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $73.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.50. The stock has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. The business's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFG Advisory LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 67,119 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $5,070,000 after acquiring an additional 20,874 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.0% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,227,411 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $83,145,000 after purchasing an additional 324,638 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 74,411 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $5,041,000 after purchasing an additional 26,035 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $91,082,000 after buying an additional 704,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.