Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Short Interest Update

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,960,000 shares, a growth of 11.6% from the November 15th total of 16,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH stock opened at $80.06 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.57. The company has a market capitalization of $39.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.