Mariner LLC Decreases Position in SAP SE (NYSE:SAP)

Mariner LLC decreased its stake in SAP SE (NYSE:SAP - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,331 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 1,725 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in SAP were worth $11,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SAP. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in SAP by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,486 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 3,495 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SAP by 208.2% during the 4th quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,367 shares of the software maker's stock worth $4,030,000 after purchasing an additional 11,057 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in SAP by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 548,469 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $125,654,000 after purchasing an additional 7,667 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in SAP by 152.0% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 414,154 shares of the software maker's stock worth $101,969,000 after purchasing an additional 249,824 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in SAP by 98.9% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,572 shares of the software maker's stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter.

SAP Stock Up 8.8 %

Shares of SAP traded up $22.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $274.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,305,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 989,911. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company's 50-day moving average is $268.83 and its 200-day moving average is $255.75. SAP SE has a 52-week low of $179.15 and a 52-week high of $293.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $337.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.71, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.28.

SAP (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The software maker reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.02). SAP had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 9.17%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SAP SE will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SAP Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $2.5423 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on SAP from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of SAP in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of SAP from $283.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of SAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of SAP from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $251.00.

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.