176,031 Shares in Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 176,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,222,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLTK. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Playtika by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 131,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 19,710 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Playtika by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 212,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 59,071 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Playtika by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 544,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 29,217 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Playtika by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,926,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,312,000 after purchasing an additional 241,658 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Playtika by 96.7% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 61,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 30,166 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PLTK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Playtika from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Playtika from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $6.00 to $6.50 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Playtika from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.00 price target (down previously from $9.00) on shares of Playtika in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Playtika from $7.25 to $5.75 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Playtika has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Holding Uk Ltd Playtika II sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 200,347,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,735,240. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Playtika Stock Down 6.8%

NASDAQ PLTK opened at $4.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $4.96 and its 200-day moving average is $6.48. Playtika Holding Corp. has a 12-month low of $3.97 and a 12-month high of $9.16.

Playtika (NASDAQ:PLTK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.02). Playtika had a negative return on equity of 144.73% and a net margin of 8.52%. The company had revenue of $706.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Playtika Holding Corp. will post 0.65 EPS for the current year.

Playtika Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. Playtika’s payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

About Playtika

Playtika Holding Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops mobile games in the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia pacific, and internationally. The company owns a portfolio of casual and social casino-themed games. It distributes its games to the end customer through various web and mobile platforms and direct-to-consumer platforms.