Earnest Partners LLC Has $22.44 Million Stock Position in NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE)

Earnest Partners LLC lowered its position in NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 132,107 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 8,378 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 0.21% of NICE worth $22,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in NICE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $313,808,000. FIL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of NICE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,465,000. New South Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in NICE in the 4th quarter worth about $54,980,000. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of NICE in the 4th quarter worth $31,792,000. Finally, HMI Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of NICE by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. HMI Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,642,770 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $279,008,000 after purchasing an additional 186,600 shares in the last quarter. 63.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NICE Price Performance

Shares of NICE stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.85. The stock had a trading volume of 127,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 584,483. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.05. NICE Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $137.19 and a fifty-two week high of $229.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $150.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.56.

NICE (NASDAQ:NICE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.96 by ($0.71). The business had revenue of $721.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.47 million. NICE had a net margin of 16.18% and a return on equity of 16.17%. As a group, research analysts forecast that NICE Ltd. will post 9.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NICE shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of NICE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of NICE in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on NICE from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of NICE from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on NICE from $235.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NICE presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.29.

About NICE

NICE Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud platforms for AI-driven digital business solutions worldwide. It offers CXone, a cloud native open platform; Enlighten, an AI engine for the customer engagement market; and smart self service enable organizations to address consumers' needs; and journey orchestration solutions that empower organizations to connect and route customers to deal with the customer's request, and connects them using real time AI-based routing.