Brokerages Set Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Target Price at $80.35

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.35.

CTSH has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.6 %

CTSH stock opened at $79.49 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.72 and its 200 day moving average is $75.31. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $82.46. The stock has a market cap of $39.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

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.