Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Berenberg Bank

Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $84.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.96. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52-week low of $65.15 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.72.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 10.20%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.220-5.260 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 3,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $250,031.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,037,074.54. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,920. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,206 shares of company stock worth $2,505,231. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,348,442 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,047,570,000 after acquiring an additional 493,912 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,381,572 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,980,524,000 after purchasing an additional 157,427 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 17,710,868 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,187,868,000 after purchasing an additional 260,177 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,019,891 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,091,391,000 after purchasing an additional 206,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,534,198 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $840,669,000 after buying an additional 987,395 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

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.