BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $168,000 Stock Holdings in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its position in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS - Free Report) by 62.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,240 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 10,412 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Sapiens International were worth $168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Sapiens International by 171.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,356 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Sapiens International in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,108 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sapiens International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $245,000. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sapiens International Trading Up 1.6%

SPNS traded up $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.19. 119,641 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 155,531. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.63 and a beta of 0.95. Sapiens International Co. has a one year low of $23.69 and a one year high of $41.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 13.31%. The company had revenue of $136.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.25 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Sapiens International's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. Sapiens International's payout ratio is 46.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SPNS. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Sapiens International in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their price target on Sapiens International from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sapiens International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.25.

Sapiens International Company Profile

Sapiens International Corporation N.V. provides software solutions for the insurance industry in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company provides various solutions for property and casualty commercial and personal lines, life and pensions, and reinsurance fields.