ACI Worldwide, Inc. $ACIW Shares Purchased by UBS Group AG

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in ACI Worldwide by 30.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 70,401 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 299,135 shares worth about $14.3 million.
• Insider buying was also reported, with directors Juan Benitez II and Adalio T. Sanchez purchasing shares in early March, signaling continued confidence from company insiders.
• ACI Worldwide beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $0.61 EPS versus the $0.45 estimate on revenue of $425.75 million, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with a $60 price target.

UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in ACI Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACIW - Free Report) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 299,135 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 70,401 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.29% of ACI Worldwide worth $14,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ACIW. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide by 79.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,659,385 shares of the technology company's stock worth $509,726,000 after acquiring an additional 4,280,684 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide by 879.8% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,430,404 shares of the technology company's stock worth $75,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284,419 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia increased its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide by 91.0% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,732,941 shares of the technology company's stock worth $91,448,000 after acquiring an additional 825,671 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide by 159.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 781,468 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,362,000 after acquiring an additional 480,711 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide by 305.1% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 433,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $19,915,000 after acquiring an additional 326,699 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Juan Benitez II bought 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.90 per share, for a total transaction of $100,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,881 shares in the company, valued at $707,313.90. This trade represents a 16.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Adalio T. Sanchez bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.98 per share, for a total transaction of $122,940.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 64,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,638,210.44. This trade represents a 4.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACIW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ACI Worldwide from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of ACI Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of ACI Worldwide in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ACI Worldwide currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.00.

ACI Worldwide Stock Down 3.2%

ACIW stock opened at $40.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm's fifty day moving average is $41.88 and its 200 day moving average is $44.11. ACI Worldwide, Inc. has a one year low of $38.05 and a one year high of $54.28.

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.16. ACI Worldwide had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $425.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that ACI Worldwide, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

About ACI Worldwide

ACI Worldwide NASDAQ: ACIW is a global software company that provides electronic payment and banking solutions to financial institutions, merchants and billers. The company's platforms enable real-time processing of credit, debit, ACH, bill payments, faster payments and money transfers, as well as integrated fraud prevention services. Headquartered in Naples, Florida, ACI serves clients across banking, payments and commerce sectors worldwide.

ACI's modular suite of applications can be deployed on-premise, in the cloud or in hybrid environments to meet diverse operational needs.

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