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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share by the information technology service provider on Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th.

Cognizant Technology Solutions has increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 5 years. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a payout ratio of 24.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to earn $4.92 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $66.27. 8,540,540 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,291,306. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.51. The company has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52 week low of $58.81 and a 52 week high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CTSH. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.63.

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.