Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Price Target Lowered to $77.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $85.00 to $77.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the information technology service provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a neutral rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $75.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $65.68 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.56. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a twelve month low of $58.47 and a twelve month high of $80.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 67,119 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $5,070,000 after acquiring an additional 20,874 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.0% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,227,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $83,145,000 after acquiring an additional 324,638 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.8% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 74,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $5,041,000 after acquiring an additional 26,035 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,082,000 after acquiring an additional 704,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.