Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Receives “Hold” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their hold rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CTSH. Barclays upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $87.09 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $87.61. The firm has a market cap of $43.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.45.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.