Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Board of Directors Initiates Share Repurchase Program

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on 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. Barclays upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.71.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $78.82. The stock had a trading volume of 5,214,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,380,801. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $90.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.50. The stock has a market cap of $38.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.