KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires New Position in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EEFT. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 485.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 121.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 954 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 989 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 21.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

NASDAQ:EEFT opened at $107.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.39. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.07 and a 1 year high of $117.66.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.23). Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 27.74% and a net margin of 7.69%. Equities analysts forecast that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.69, for a total value of $9,565,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,418,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,875,686.54. This represents a 6.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 10.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EEFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Euronet Worldwide from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Euronet Worldwide currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.86.

Euronet Worldwide Company Profile

Euronet Worldwide, Inc provides payment and transaction processing and distribution solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers, and individual consumers worldwide. It operates through three segments: Electronic Fund Transfer Processing, epay, and Money Transfer. The Electronic Fund Transfer Processing segment provides electronic payment solutions, including automated teller machine (ATM) cash withdrawal and deposit services, ATM network participation, outsourced ATM and point-of-sale (POS) management solutions, credit and debit and prepaid card outsourcing, card issuing, and merchant acquiring services.