Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Short Interest Up 5.2% in September

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 14,240,000 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the September 15th total of 13,530,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $77.74 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12-month low of $62.14 and a 12-month high of $80.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.44.

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.