Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30 (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share by the information technology service provider on Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th.

Cognizant Technology Solutions has raised its dividend payment by an average of 9.7% per year over the last three years. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a dividend payout ratio of 24.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to earn $4.95 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 Performance

NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $74.61. 4,101,130 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,827,082. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $62.14 and a fifty-two week high of $80.27.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.70.

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.