Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Hold Rating for Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on CTSH. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $77.85 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.48. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,539,290,000 after buying an additional 515,881 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,032,239,000 after acquiring an additional 157,464 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $857,205,000 after acquiring an additional 123,745 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,655,180 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $819,383,000 after purchasing an additional 287,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.