AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 73,163 Shares of Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT - Free Report) by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,468 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 73,163 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.45% of Verint Systems worth $7,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verint Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Verint Systems by 9.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,265 shares of the technology company's stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 3,585 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Verint Systems by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 95,064 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,610,000 after buying an additional 11,285 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Verint Systems by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 50,792 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 8,116 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Verint Systems by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 106,556 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,925,000 after buying an additional 17,123 shares in the last quarter. 94.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verint Systems Stock Performance

Verint Systems stock traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $18.86. 94,267 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 795,614. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.45. Verint Systems Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.15 and a fifty-two week high of $38.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The technology company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $253.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.82 million. Verint Systems had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 8.49%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verint Systems Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Verint Systems from $36.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Verint Systems in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Verint Systems from $38.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com lowered Verint Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Verint Systems from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Gold sold 2,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.07, for a total transaction of $44,096.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,561.11. This represents a 8.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Fante sold 9,439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total transaction of $155,743.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $337,425. This trade represents a 31.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Verint Systems Company Profile

Verint Systems Inc provides customer engagement solutions worldwide. It offers forecasting and scheduling, channels and routing, knowledge management, fraud and security solutions, quality and compliance, analytics and insights, real-time assistance, self-services, financial compliance, and voice pf the consumer solutions.