Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $64.61 and last traded at $65.18, with a volume of 11600665 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $66.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, William Blair raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.17.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 2.1%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $31.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.95.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information technology service provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 10.56%.The company had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Surya Gummadi sold 1,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.06, for a total value of $143,527.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,641 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,741.46. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 3,125 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $250,031.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,037,074.54. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,434 shares of company stock valued at $2,460,809 over the last ninety days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $690,959,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $673,651,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,834,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $234,671,000. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,680,508 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $554,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122,600 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.