Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Sells 16,921 Shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC cut its stake in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 325,402 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 16,921 shares during the quarter. Euronet Worldwide accounts for about 1.8% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.74% of Euronet Worldwide worth $33,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 5.4% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 161,283 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $16,004,000 after acquiring an additional 8,230 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the third quarter worth approximately $15,258,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,014 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the third quarter worth approximately $666,000. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 627,149 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $64,496,000 after acquiring an additional 20,824 shares during the period. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Euronet Worldwide

In other news, SVP Martin L. Bruckner sold 9,397 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.31, for a total value of $1,008,392.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,290,575.73. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin J. Caponecchi sold 52,034 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $5,547,344.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,288 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,603.68. This trade represents a 36.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,910 shares of company stock valued at $8,780,102. 10.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

NASDAQ:EEFT traded down $4.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $101.39. 489,418 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 325,051. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.07 and a 1 year high of $117.66. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.15.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.23). Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 27.74%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on EEFT shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Euronet Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.00.

Euronet Worldwide Company 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.