Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. Expected to Earn Q4 2024 Earnings of $1.16 Per Share (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) – Equities research analysts at William Blair lifted their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report issued on Thursday, May 2nd. William Blair analyst M. Nolan now expects that the information technology service provider will post earnings per share of $1.16 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.14. The consensus estimate for Cognizant Technology Solutions’ current full-year earnings is $4.60 per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $67.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $33.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.57. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $60.26 and a 12 month high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.72 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,860,483,000 after purchasing an additional 7,445,089 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,196,547,000 after buying an additional 4,365,493 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,056,248 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $544,942,000 after acquiring an additional 231,782 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,177,547 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $418,467,000 after acquiring an additional 294,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,433,474 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $410,406,000 after acquiring an additional 238,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

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.