First Trust Advisors LP Has $73.22 Million Holdings in SAP SE (NYSE:SAP)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in SAP SE (NYSE:SAP - Free Report) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 297,372 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 53,022 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in SAP were worth $73,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SAP. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of SAP by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 955 shares of the software maker's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of SAP by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the software maker's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. raised its position in shares of SAP by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 1,089 shares of the software maker's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in shares of SAP by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,927 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in SAP by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,586 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter.

SAP Stock Performance

NYSE SAP opened at $250.65 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $269.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.78. SAP SE has a 1 year low of $176.14 and a 1 year high of $293.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

SAP (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The software maker reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.02). SAP had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 12.18%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SAP SE will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

SAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.5423 per share. This is an increase from SAP's previous annual dividend of $2.39. This represents a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. SAP's payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on SAP shares. Barclays boosted their price target on SAP from $283.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities upped their price target on SAP from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of SAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of SAP from $307.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of SAP in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.67.

About SAP

SAP SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides applications, technology, and services worldwide. It offers SAP S/4HANA that provides software capabilities for finance, risk and project management, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain and asset management, and research and development; SAP SuccessFactors solutions for human resources, including HR and payroll, talent and employee experience management, and people and workforce analytics; and spend management solutions that covers direct and indirect spend, travel and expense, and external workforce management.

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