Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $39.45, but opened at $29.80. Sapiens International shares last traded at $29.79, with a volume of 217,851 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPNS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Sapiens International from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Sapiens International Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business's 50 day moving average is $36.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.45. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85 and a beta of 1.25.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Sapiens International's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.28. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. Sapiens International's payout ratio is currently 47.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sapiens International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPNS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Sapiens International by 2.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,036,915 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,183,000 after purchasing an additional 25,623 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 954,791 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,687,000 after purchasing an additional 79,302 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Sapiens International by 14.6% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 681,004 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $23,106,000 after acquiring an additional 87,001 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Sapiens International by 155.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 599,386 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $19,276,000 after purchasing an additional 364,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International during the second quarter valued at about $16,616,000. 30.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sapiens International

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.