Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Rating) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,180,000 shares, a growth of 17.1% from the February 13th total of 6,130,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.
In other news, insider Rajesh Nambiar sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $452,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Maureen Breakiron-Evans sold 6,371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.76, for a total transaction of $559,118.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,568 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTSH. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 94.8% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 302 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 409 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Fieldpoint Private Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 475.4% during the fourth quarter. Fieldpoint Private Securities LLC now owns 397 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. 90.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Sunday, January 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $92.13.
CTSH opened at $89.70 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1-year low of $66.19 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.89 and a 200-day moving average of $82.18.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 2nd. The information technology service provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 19.00% and a net margin of 11.55%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 18th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.67%.
About Cognizant Technology Solutions
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. engages in the provision of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services. It operates through the following business segments: Financial Services, Healthcare, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media, and Technology. The Financial Services segment consists of banking and insurance services.