Royce & Associates LP Buys 369,947 Shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS - Free Report) by 65.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 932,703 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 369,947 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 1.67% of Sapiens International worth $25,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International during the third quarter worth $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Sapiens International by 171.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,356 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sapiens International by 8.8% in 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 during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sapiens International by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,108 shares of the technology company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sapiens International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $262,000. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Sapiens International in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on Sapiens International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Sapiens International in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Sapiens International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.50.

Sapiens International Price Performance

Shares of SPNS traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 121,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,529. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Sapiens International Co. has a one year low of $25.01 and a one year high of $41.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98 and a beta of 1.16. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $26.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.47.

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

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.