Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $95.00 to $103.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cognizant Technology Solutions traded as high as $87.86 and last traded at $87.88, with a volume of 525638 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.96.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value 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 trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth about $1,972,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40,226 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $1,294,000. Matthews International Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 101,420 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $7,828,000 after purchasing an additional 11,349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $43.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.61%.

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.