Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Stake in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT - Free Report) by 67.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,417 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,413 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Euronet Worldwide were worth $1,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EEFT. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 0.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 18,074 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Euronet Worldwide by 0.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,674 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,903 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 21.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,087 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 23,277 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,394,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of EEFT stock traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $96.99. 266,816 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 335,136. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $100.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.25. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.07 and a 12-month high of $117.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.43.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.23). Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 27.74% and a net margin of 7.69%. On average, analysts forecast that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Euronet Worldwide news, CEO Nikos Fountas sold 21,479 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.56, for a total transaction of $2,224,365.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,423,437.20. This trade represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EEFT. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.00.

About Euronet Worldwide

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.