Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH – Rated ) was the target of a sharp drop in short interest in November. As of November 15, short interest totaled 6.47 million shares, a decrease of 17.1% from 7.8 million shares on October 31. About 1.3% of the company’s shares were sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,700,000 shares, the current days-to-cover ratio is 1.7 days.
insider activity
In other news, director Leo S. Jr. McKay sold 3,300 shares of the company during trading on Monday, Nov. 7. The stock has an average selling price of $52.79 and a total value of $174,207.00. Following the closing of the transaction, the director now owns 28,310 shares of the company, valued at approximately $1,494,484.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be accessed at this link. In related news, director Zein Abdalla sold 4,368 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a trade dated Friday, September 9. The stock has an average selling price of $65.44 and a total value of $285,841.92. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,556 shares of the company, worth approximately $887,104.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Separately, director Leo S. Jr. Mackay sold 3,300 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in trading on Monday, Nov. 7. These shares sold for an average of $52.79, for a total value of $174,207.00. Following the closing of the transaction, the director now owns 28,310 shares of the company, valued at approximately $1,494,484.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company.
Institutional Transactions for Cognizant Technology Solutions
Several hedge funds recently revised their stock holdings. Robeco Institutional Asset Management BV increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.3% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management BV now owns 606,482 shares of the information technology service provider worth $34,838,000 after acquiring an additional 51,750 shares in the previous quarter. Toroso Investments LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.1 percent in the third quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the information technology services provider, worth $942,000, after purchasing an additional 648 shares last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors purchased $281,000 worth of new positions at Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter. The Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System purchased one new position at Cognizant Technology Solutions for $2,748,000 in the third quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. It increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.4% in the third quarter. New Belt Securities now owns 10,023 shares of the information technology service provider worth $576,000 after buying an additional 236 shares last quarter. 90.67% of the shares are currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Cognizant Technology Solutions volume fell 0.4%
Nasdaq: CTSH fell $0.23 to $62.39 during Friday’s trading session. 3,132,177 shares were exchanged against an average volume of 3,965,471 shares. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 2.27, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.16 and a 200-day moving average of $64.65. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a twelve-month low of $51.33 and a twelve-month high of $93.47. The company has a market capitalization of $32.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 1.27, and a beta of 1.04.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH – Get Rating ) last reported quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 2nd. The information technology services provider reported earnings per share of $1.17 for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.17. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net profit margin of 12.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was $4.86 billion, compared with analysts’ expectations of $5.01 billion. On average, equity analysts predict Cognizant Technology Solutions to post earnings per share of 4.46 for the year.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed its quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 29. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 18 received a $0.27 dividend. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.08 and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 17. Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a payout ratio of 24.00%.
Analyst promotion and downgrade
Several equity research analysts have commented on CTSH stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. . Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the company in a research note on Thursday, November 3rd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, October 21st. William Blair downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “market perform” rating from an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the company in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “hold” and an average price target of $73.16.
About Cognizant Technology Solutions
(get rating)
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation is a professional services company that provides consulting and technology and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Financial Services; Healthcare; Products and Resources; and Communications, Media and Technology.
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