Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Declares $0.30 Quarterly Dividend

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share by the information technology service provider on Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th.

Cognizant Technology Solutions has increased 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% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to earn $4.95 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 24.2%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.37. The company had a trading volume of 406,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,809,221. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12-month low of $62.14 and a 12-month high of $80.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.60.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.