Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (CTSH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30 on August 28th

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 31st, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share by the information technology service provider on Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th.

Cognizant Technology Solutions has raised its dividend payment by an average of 9.7% per year over the last three years. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a dividend payout ratio of 24.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to earn $4.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.4%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of CTSH stock traded down $2.46 on Friday, hitting $73.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,121,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,132,277. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a twelve month low of $62.14 and a twelve month high of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.90. The firm has a market cap of $36.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

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.