BMO Capital Markets Lowers Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Price Target to $77.00

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) had its target price dropped by BMO Capital Markets from $85.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the information technology service provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.09% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Societe Generale reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Guggenheim started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $66.33. 508,379 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,243,774. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12-month low of $58.47 and a 12-month high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 198,317 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $13,434,000 after buying an additional 15,441 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.4% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 64,251 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,352,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 434,244 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $29,416,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 38,932 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,088 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.