Short Interest in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Increases By 13.0%

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,490,000 shares, an increase of 13.0% from the October 15th total of 13,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.24 during trading on Monday, hitting $76.87. 4,412,402 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,828,985. The firm has a market cap of $38.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,045,823 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $4,254,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,933,908 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,265,473,000 after buying an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,022,728,000 after buying an additional 173,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,781,273 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $569,175,000 after buying an additional 101,078 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.47.

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.