Cognizant Technology Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Free Report ) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 31st, as reported by Zacks. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share by the information technology services provider on Wednesday, August 28th. This equates to an annualized dividend of $1.20, or a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th.
Cognizant Technology Solutions has increased its dividend by an average of 9.7% per year over the past three years. Cognizant Technology Solutions' dividend payout ratio is 24.2%, meaning that its dividends are well covered by earnings. Equity analysts expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to earn $4.93 per share next year, which means the company will be able to continue covering its dividend of $1.20 per year, giving it a future forecast dividend payout ratio of 24.3%.
Cognizant Technology Solutions shares rose 0.5%
CTSH shares opened trading at $75.86 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $70.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.62. The company's debt-to-equity ratio is 0.04, quick ratio is 2.35 and current ratio is 2.46. The company has a market capitalization of $37.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions' 52-week low is $62.14 and its 52-week high is $80.27.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get free report ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology services provider reported quarterly EPS of $1.17, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. The company's quarterly revenue was $4.85 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions' ROE was 17.31%, with a net margin of 11.39%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 0.7% year-over-year. During the same period last year, the company's earnings per share were $1.10. Analysts on average expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to post earnings of $4.65 per share this year.
Internal Activities at Cognizant Technology Solutions
In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetty sold 6,728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that took place on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the sale, the CEO now owns 46,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . 0.26% of the stock is now owned by insiders.
Analyst upgrades and downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Royal Bank increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target on the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “market average” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, and three have given a buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “hold” and a consensus target price of $76.06.
Read the latest CTSH research report
About Cognizant Technology Solutions
(Get your free report)
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation is a professional services company providing consulting, technology and outsourcing services throughout North America, Europe and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Financial Services, Health Sciences, Products & Resources, and Communications, Media & Technology.
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