Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Stake Cut by Brevan Howard Capital Management LP

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lessened its stake in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT - Free Report) by 72.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,651 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,092 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Euronet Worldwide were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,294 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 135,903 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,976,000 after acquiring an additional 49,434 shares in the last quarter. 4D Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,114,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 10,012 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connors Investor Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Euronet Worldwide

In related news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.69, for a total transaction of $9,565,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,418,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,875,686.54. This trade represents a 6.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Euronet Worldwide from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Euronet Worldwide from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com lowered Euronet Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Euronet Worldwide currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.57.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EEFT traded up $1.56 on Friday, hitting $111.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 441,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,595. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.24 and a 12 month high of $117.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $101.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.13. Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 27.74% and a net margin of 7.69%. The company had revenue of $915.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $908.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

About Euronet Worldwide

Euronet Worldwide, Inc provides payment and transaction processing and distribution solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers, and individual consumers worldwide. It operates through three segments: Electronic Fund Transfer Processing, epay, and Money Transfer. The Electronic Fund Transfer Processing segment provides electronic payment solutions, including automated teller machine (ATM) cash withdrawal and deposit services, ATM network participation, outsourced ATM and point-of-sale (POS) management solutions, credit and debit and prepaid card outsourcing, card issuing, and merchant acquiring services.