Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $82.46 and last traded at $82.08, with a volume of 462972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $205,096,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $146,132,000 after buying an additional 1,281,236 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $122,603,000 after buying an additional 1,167,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $126,940,000 after buying an additional 978,579 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.