Northern Trust Corp Buys 2,641 Shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 226,353 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,641 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.40% of Sapiens International worth $6,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SPNS. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Sapiens International by 171.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,356 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sapiens International by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,108 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International in the fourth quarter valued at about $245,000. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sapiens International Stock Down 0.4%

SPNS stock opened at $28.20 on Wednesday. Sapiens International Co. has a twelve month low of $23.69 and a twelve month high of $41.22. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.58. 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 (NASDAQ:SPNS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $136.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.25 million. Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 13.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from Sapiens International’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a yield of 2.2%. Sapiens International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Sapiens International from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Sapiens International in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.25.

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.