Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $95.00 price target on the information technology service provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $80.00.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $79.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $82.46. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.90.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.5% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 786 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. 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.