Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $76.90. 2,039,834 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,708,996. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $82.46. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.85 and its 200-day moving average is $75.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the second 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $378,483,000 after purchasing an additional 94,209 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $363,153,000 after buying an additional 142,225 shares during the period. 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.