Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $1.08 Per Share, William Blair Forecasts (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) – Stock analysts at William Blair dropped their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Cognizant Technology Solutions in a note issued to investors on Thursday, May 2nd. William Blair analyst M. Nolan now expects that the information technology service provider will post earnings of $1.08 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.11. The consensus estimate for Cognizant Technology Solutions’ current full-year earnings is $4.59 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Cognizant Technology Solutions’ Q3 2024 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.12 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.11 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.23 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.20 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $66.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The firm has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1 year low of $60.26 and a 1 year high of $80.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $72.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.46.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,860,483,000 after acquiring an additional 7,445,089 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $406,360,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,196,547,000 after buying an additional 4,365,493 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,861.7% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,686,597 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $127,389,000 after buying an additional 1,600,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,083.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,422,912 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $107,473,000 after buying an additional 1,357,755 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.