Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stock Position in 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. cut its holdings in Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR - Free Report) by 22.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund 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 reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Elequin Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 297 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the first quarter worth about $32,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shift4 Payments Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of FOUR opened at $87.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. Shift4 Payments, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.09 and a 12 month high of $127.50. The stock's 50 day moving average is $96.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.79. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.44, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.72.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FOUR. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Shift4 Payments from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Shift4 Payments from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Shift4 Payments from $113.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Shift4 Payments news, CEO David Taylor Lauber sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.59, for a total value of $221,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 285,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,300,240.92. This trade represents a 0.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider James J. Whalen sold 794 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.89, for a total value of $71,372.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,062,964.36. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,051 shares of company stock valued at $1,551,297 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 25.15% of the company's stock.

About Shift4 Payments

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.