Share Repurchase Plan Approved by Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Board

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut 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 note on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $77.58 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.47. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

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.