BMO Capital Markets Boosts Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Price Target to $94.00

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) had its price objective lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $88.00 to $94.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the information technology service provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on CTSH. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $87.09 on Thursday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $79.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.45. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $87.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 1.42%. This is a boost 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 26.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 867,176 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,348,102 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $257,469,000 after purchasing an additional 103,371 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after buying an additional 705,946 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.