LPL Financial LLC Has $1.74 Million Stake in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,255 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,917 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.12% of Sapiens International worth $1,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Sapiens International by 171.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,356 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sapiens International by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Sapiens International by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,108 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Sapiens International during the fourth quarter worth $262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SPNS. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Sapiens International in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Sapiens International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.50.

Sapiens International Trading Up 3.6 %

SPNS traded up $0.92 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.36. 107,842 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,880. The company's fifty day moving average price is $26.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.24. Sapiens International Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.69 and a fifty-two week high of $41.22.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $134.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.89 million. Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Sapiens International's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a yield of 2.2%. Sapiens International's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.51%.

Sapiens International Profile

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.