SAP (NYSE:SAP) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.12 EPS

SAP (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The software maker reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.12, Zacks reports. SAP had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 12.18%.

SAP Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of SAP stock traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $252.12. 2,464,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 988,471. The firm has a market cap of $309.72 billion, a PE ratio of 87.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.28. 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 $269.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.78. SAP has a 1 year low of $176.14 and a 1 year high of $293.70.

SAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $2.5423 dividend. This is an increase from SAP's previous annual dividend of $2.39. This represents a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. SAP's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on SAP from $307.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of SAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen upgraded SAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $305.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on SAP from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of SAP from $283.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, SAP currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $247.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SAP

An institutional investor recently raised its position in SAP stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of SAP SE (NYSE:SAP - Free Report) by 91.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,633 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in SAP were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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.

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