Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 365,607 Shares of Shift4 Payments, Inc. $FOUR

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has decreased its stock holdings in Shift4 Payments, Inc. by 22.1%, now owning approximately 1.46% of the company valued at about $105.5 million.
• Shift4 Payments reported quarterly earnings, missing the consensus estimate with $1.10 EPS against an expected $1.20, while revenue was $413.4 million, significantly below the forecast of $967.84 million.
• Despite some drops in target prices from analysts, many continue to issue a buy rating, with an average price target of $115.21 for the stock.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR - Free Report) by 22.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,291,306 shares of the company's stock after selling 365,607 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.46% of Shift4 Payments worth $105,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Shift4 Payments by 100.0% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 434 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 14B Captial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. 14B Captial Management LP now owns 525,000 shares of the company's stock worth $42,898,000 after purchasing an additional 39,000 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 15.4% during the first quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 5,919,793 shares of the company's stock worth $483,706,000 after purchasing an additional 788,952 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Shift4 Payments in the first quarter valued at about $5,024,000. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. lifted its stake in Shift4 Payments by 6.6% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 6,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on FOUR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Shift4 Payments in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Shift4 Payments from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Shift4 Payments presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.21.

Shift4 Payments Stock Up 1.6%

FOUR traded up $1.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $86.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,149,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,336,534. The company has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.72. Shift4 Payments, Inc. has a one year low of $68.09 and a one year high of $127.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $95.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $413.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.84 million. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 37.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Shift4 Payments, Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Shift4 Payments

In other Shift4 Payments news, Chairman Jared Isaacman purchased 104,705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $83.61 per share, for a total transaction of $8,754,385.05. Following the purchase, the chairman owned 939,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,569,571.15. This represents a 12.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider James J. Whalen sold 794 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.89, for a total transaction of $71,372.66. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 56,324 shares in the company, valued at $5,062,964.36. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $1,196,148 over the last quarter. Insiders own 25.15% of the company's stock.

Shift4 Payments Company Profile

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.