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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 14,240,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the September 15th total of 13,530,000 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CTSH shares. Daiwa America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $77.74. 2,012,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,833,472. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $62.14 and a fifty-two week high of $80.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.63. 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 company has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the first quarter worth $1,687,000. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter worth $233,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 147,345 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $10,799,000 after buying an additional 19,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 650,385 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $47,667,000 after buying an additional 53,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.