Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Board Initiates Share Buyback Plan

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $77.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $38.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.