Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (CTSH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.31 on February 26th

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 0.31 per share by the information technology service provider on Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Cognizant Technology Solutions has increased its dividend by an average of 7.7% per year over the last three years. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a dividend payout ratio of 22.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to earn $4.96 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 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,909,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,039,668. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $87.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.44 and a 200-day moving average of $77.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.22.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% 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.