Norges Bank Buys New Holdings in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 45,728 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,239,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 451.9% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,131,426 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,168,000 after purchasing an additional 926,405 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Sapiens International by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 932,703 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,062,000 after purchasing an additional 369,947 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 100.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 153,852 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after buying an additional 77,219 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 594,552 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,159,000 after buying an additional 75,866 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 189,365 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,088,000 after buying an additional 61,200 shares during the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sapiens International Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of SPNS opened at $26.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.29. Sapiens International Co. has a 12 month low of $23.69 and a 12 month high of $41.22.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $134.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.89 million. Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. Analysts predict that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Sapiens International’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. Sapiens International’s dividend payout ratio is 46.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Sapiens International Profile

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.