Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 1,167 Shares of SAP SE (NYSE:SAP)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in SAP SE (NYSE:SAP - Free Report) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,448 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 1,167 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in SAP were worth $2,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in SAP in the fourth quarter valued at $290,023,000. TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SAP by 125.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,602,548 shares of the software maker's stock worth $394,563,000 after purchasing an additional 890,157 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of SAP by 145.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,346,506 shares of the software maker's stock worth $331,523,000 after buying an additional 798,037 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of SAP in the fourth quarter valued at about $163,630,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SAP during the 4th quarter valued at about $150,668,000.

SAP Price Performance

Shares of SAP stock traded down $3.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $257.02. 1,503,694 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 981,820. SAP SE has a 12 month low of $175.08 and a 12 month high of $293.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $315.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.55, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50 day moving average price is $271.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.90.

SAP (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The software maker reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.02). SAP had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 12.18%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SAP SE will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

SAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.5423 per share. This represents a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from SAP's previous annual dividend of $2.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. SAP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of SAP from $307.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. 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 raised shares of SAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of SAP in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on SAP from $283.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SAP has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.67.

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.