Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) by 51.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,631 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 30,424 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.05% of Sapiens International worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 7.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,540 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 415.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,640 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after buying an additional 44,033 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,878 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,630,000 after buying an additional 32,780 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Sapiens International by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Sapiens International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Sapiens International in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Sapiens International Stock Performance

NASDAQ SPNS opened at $28.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Sapiens International Co. has a twelve month low of $23.69 and a twelve month high of $41.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 1.10.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.01). Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The company had revenue of $134.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.89 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Sapiens International’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. Sapiens International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.51%.

About Sapiens International

Sapiens International Corporation N.V. provides software solutions for the insurance industry in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company provides various solutions for property and casualty commercial and personal lines, life and pensions, and reinsurance fields.