Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) Receives $85.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.00.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Susquehanna raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,539,290,000 after buying an additional 515,881 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,032,239,000 after purchasing an additional 157,464 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,077,445 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $923,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,265 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $857,205,000 after buying an additional 123,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $527,719,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $79.14 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52-week low of $65.52 and a 52-week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 11.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

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.