William Blair Issues Negative Outlook for CTSH Earnings

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) – Analysts at William Blair decreased their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report issued on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair analyst M. Nolan now forecasts that the information technology service provider will post earnings per share of $1.10 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.17. The consensus estimate for Cognizant Technology Solutions’ current full-year earnings is $4.62 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Cognizant Technology Solutions’ Q2 2025 earnings at $1.23 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.26 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.00 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.34 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CTSH. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.70.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $74.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.36 and a 200 day moving average of $71.99. The stock has a market cap of $36.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $62.14 and a 12 month high of $80.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,045,823 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,254,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,933,908 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,781,273 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $569,175,000 after acquiring an additional 101,078 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $378,483,000 after acquiring an additional 94,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 142,225 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

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.