Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 10,574 put options on the company. This is an increase of 162% compared to the average volume of 4,040 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $100.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.70.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $39.81 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.69. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $37.08 and a 12 month high of $87.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.81.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The company had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, May 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $690,959,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $673,651,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $201,834,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $234,671,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 20,262,362 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,243,096,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633,683 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

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.