Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Hold Rating for Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CTSH. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.70.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.0 %

CTSH stock opened at $74.61 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.99. The company has a market capitalization of $36.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $62.14 and a 12 month high of $80.27.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions 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 transaction of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third 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 period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 48,552 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,558,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Personal Financial Services raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% in the second quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 34,893 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

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.