Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Guggenheim lowered their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $85.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Cognizant Technology Solutions traded as low as $55.61 and last traded at $55.4380, with a volume of 854123 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.81.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $86.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Berenberg Bank set a $107.00 price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, insider Surya Gummadi sold 1,728 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.06, for a total value of $143,527.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,741.46. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 30,095 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% during the second quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 24,635 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Haven Private LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.9% during the third quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 8,451 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 2.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.16.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information technology service provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 10.56%.Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.700 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 29.01%.

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.