Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) Receives $63.00 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-four analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.00.

Several brokerages have issued reports on CTSH. Dbs Bank cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Berenberg Bank set a $59.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $61.87 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.83. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12-month low of $37.08 and a 12-month high of $87.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $5.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.26% and a return on equity of 17.70%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.700-5.820 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 28.39%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $2,642,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,510,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 20,262,362 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,243,096,000 after buying an additional 2,633,683 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,874,274 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $238,565,000 after buying an additional 734,337 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 108,131 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $8,977,000 after buying an additional 33,248 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.