Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.31 Per Share

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 0.31 per share by the information technology service provider on Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Cognizant Technology Solutions has increased its dividend by an average of 7.7% annually over the last three years. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a payout ratio of 22.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to earn $4.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.2%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $3.49 on Thursday, reaching $87.09. 6,310,540 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,998,461. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $87.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.45. The firm has a market cap of $43.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CTSH. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% 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.