Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 47,173 Shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT - Free Report) by 32.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,911 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 47,173 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Euronet Worldwide worth $9,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 767,293 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $79,415,000 after buying an additional 10,689 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 199.3% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,928 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 5,945 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,230 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted 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 worth $1,544,000 after purchasing 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 approximately $15,258,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Euronet Worldwide Stock Up 0.3 %

EEFT traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $102.84. 216,530 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 298,031. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $103.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.99. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a one year low of $91.07 and a one year high of $117.66. The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Euronet Worldwide

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Caponecchi sold 52,034 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $5,547,344.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,603.68. This trade represents a 36.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nikos Fountas sold 21,479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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 represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 82,910 shares of company stock valued at $8,780,102. Corporate insiders own 10.50% of the company's stock.

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.