Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT - Free Report) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 33,921 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,154 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Euronet Worldwide worth $3,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EEFT. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Euronet Worldwide by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 767,293 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $79,415,000 after purchasing an additional 10,689 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 199.3% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,928 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,945 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in Euronet Worldwide by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 161,283 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,004,000 after buying an additional 8,230 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 507.8% in the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 14,916 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,544,000 after buying an additional 12,462 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Euronet Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth $15,258,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Caponecchi sold 52,034 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $5,547,344.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,288 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,603.68. This trade represents a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nikos Fountas sold 21,479 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.56, for a total value of $2,224,365.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,423,437.20. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,910 shares of company stock valued at $8,780,102. Corporate insiders own 10.50% of the company's stock.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of Euronet Worldwide stock traded up $1.99 on Wednesday, hitting $105.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 133,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,716. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.19. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.07 and a 52-week high of $117.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.44.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EEFT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup downgraded Euronet Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Euronet Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Euronet Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Euronet Worldwide currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.25.

Euronet Worldwide 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.