Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Position Trimmed by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC cut its stake in shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS - Free Report) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 848,814 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 282,612 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 1.52% of Sapiens International worth $22,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Topline Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Sapiens International in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,147,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Sapiens International by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 932,703 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,062,000 after buying an additional 369,947 shares in the last quarter. Nine Ten Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sapiens International by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Nine Ten Capital Management LLC now owns 1,074,291 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,866,000 after buying an additional 155,880 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Sapiens International by 100.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 153,852 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,134,000 after acquiring an additional 77,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Sapiens International by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 659,524 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,721,000 after acquiring an additional 64,972 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.73% of the company's stock.

Sapiens International Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:SPNS traded up $0.71 on Friday, hitting $28.03. 43,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 151,592. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.93 and a 200-day moving average of $28.41. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 1.10. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.69 and a fifty-two week high of $41.22.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.01). Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $134.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $135.89 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Sapiens International's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a yield of 2.2%. Sapiens International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Sapiens International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Sapiens International in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Sapiens International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sapiens International presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.50.

About Sapiens International

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.