Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Decreases Holdings in EVERTEC, Inc. (NYSE:EVTC)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC cut its holdings in shares of EVERTEC, Inc. (NYSE:EVTC - Free Report) by 74.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,451 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,673 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in EVERTEC were worth $154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of EVERTEC during the 4th quarter worth about $17,416,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of EVERTEC by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,542,103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $329,489,000 after purchasing an additional 427,859 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in EVERTEC in the 4th quarter worth about $6,568,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of EVERTEC in the fourth quarter worth $5,356,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of EVERTEC by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,112 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,647,000 after buying an additional 144,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.80% of the company's stock.

EVERTEC Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of EVTC traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $36.29. The stock had a trading volume of 28,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 381,487. The stock's 50 day moving average is $35.03 and its 200 day moving average is $34.44. EVERTEC, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.76 and a 1 year high of $38.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.02.

EVERTEC (NYSE:EVTC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $228.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $217.97 million. EVERTEC had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that EVERTEC, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EVERTEC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. EVERTEC's payout ratio is 11.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EVERTEC news, CAO Karla Cruz sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.77, for a total value of $73,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 18,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at $664,250.05. This represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Paola Perez-Surillo sold 14,585 shares of EVERTEC stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.15, for a total value of $541,832.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,307,791.45. This represents a 29.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,170 shares of company stock valued at $7,149,206. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EVTC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna raised EVERTEC from a "negative" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on EVERTEC from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of EVERTEC in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of EVERTEC from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.75.

EVERTEC Profile

EVERTEC, Inc engages in transaction processing business and financial technology in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates through four segments: Payment Services - Puerto Rico & Caribbean; Latin America Payments and Solutions; Merchant Acquiring; and Business Solutions. It provides merchant acquiring services, which enable point of sales and e-commerce merchants to accept and process electronic methods of payment, such as debit, credit, prepaid, and electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards.