Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Short Interest Down 13.3% in January

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,310,000 shares, a decline of 13.3% from the January 15th total of 18,810,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.3 %

CTSH traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $90.70. The stock had a trading volume of 4,369,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,990,005. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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 shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Unison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.