BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 10,412 Shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) by 62.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,240 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 10,412 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Sapiens International were worth $168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Sapiens International in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Sapiens International in the fourth quarter valued at $245,000. Institutional investors own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

Sapiens International Stock Performance

Shares of Sapiens International stock opened at $28.72 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 capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.21. Sapiens International Co. has a 12 month low of $23.69 and a 12 month high of $41.22.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $136.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $136.25 million. Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 13.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Sapiens International’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. Sapiens International’s payout ratio is currently 46.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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