Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 126,569 Shares of Shift4 Payments, Inc. $FOUR

Key Points

• Kennedy Capital Management cut its stake in Shift4 Payments by 65.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 126,569 shares and leaving it with 66,797 shares valued at about $4.2 million.
• Insider activity was notable: major shareholder Jared Isaacman bought 193,000 shares at $40.66 each, increasing his holdings by 12.1% to 1.79 million shares.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock, with a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $70.19, while Shift4 recently reported quarterly EPS that missed estimates even as revenue rose 49% year over year.

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR - Free Report) by 65.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,797 shares of the company's stock after selling 126,569 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Shift4 Payments worth $4,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FOUR. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the third quarter worth approximately $77,303,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 16.4% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 6,338,567 shares of the company's stock worth $628,215,000 after buying an additional 890,990 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 3,048.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 872,453 shares of the company's stock worth $54,938,000 after buying an additional 844,746 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,635,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,655,485 shares of the company's stock worth $104,246,000 after buying an additional 816,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Shift4 Payments news, major shareholder Jared Isaacman bought 193,000 shares of Shift4 Payments stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.66 per share, with a total value of $7,847,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 1,787,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,677,920.30. This represents a 12.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FOUR shares. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Shift4 Payments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Stephens cut shares of Shift4 Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $100.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.19.

Shift4 Payments Stock Down 3.0%

FOUR opened at $39.94 on Tuesday. Shift4 Payments, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.56 and a twelve month high of $108.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.55, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.14.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.02). Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 2.63% and a return on equity of 33.55%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.500-5.700 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Shift4 Payments, Inc. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Shift4 Payments Company Profile

Shift4 Payments is a U.S.-based provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, serving merchants across the hospitality, retail, e-commerce, gaming and lodging industries. The company's platform enables businesses to accept in-store, online and mobile payments through a combination of point-of-sale hardware, payment gateway services and back-office software. By centralizing transaction processing and reporting, Shift4 aims to simplify payments, enhance security and streamline operations for its merchant customers.

The company's core offerings include encrypted point-of-sale terminals, cloud-based payment gateways, and developer-friendly APIs for online and mobile checkouts.

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