Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

CTSH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $80.31 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $81.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.1% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 840,359 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $64,859,000 after buying an additional 174,020 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $206,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $413,000. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 182,834 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $14,111,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,638 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is 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.