Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $5.36 Million in EVERTEC, Inc. (NYSE:EVTC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of EVERTEC, Inc. (NYSE:EVTC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 155,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,356,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of EVERTEC during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in EVERTEC by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in EVERTEC by 199.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in EVERTEC during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of EVERTEC by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. 96.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at EVERTEC

In other news, CAO Karla Cruz sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.77, for a total value of $73,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 18,065 shares in the company, valued at $664,250.05. This trade represents a 9.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Paola Perez-Surillo sold 14,585 shares of EVERTEC stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.15, for a total value of $541,832.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,203 shares in the company, valued at $1,307,791.45. This represents a 29.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,170 shares of company stock valued at $7,149,206. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

EVERTEC Stock Performance

NYSE EVTC opened at $37.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. EVERTEC, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.76 and a twelve month high of $40.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.47 and a 200 day moving average of $34.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.11.

EVERTEC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. EVERTEC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on EVTC. Susquehanna raised EVERTEC from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EVERTEC in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

EVERTEC Profile

EVERTEC, Inc engages in transaction processing business and financial technology in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates through four segments: Payment Services – Puerto Rico & Caribbean; Latin America Payments and Solutions; Merchant Acquiring; and Business Solutions. It provides merchant acquiring services, which enable point of sales and e-commerce merchants to accept and process electronic methods of payment, such as debit, credit, prepaid, and electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards.