Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $23.11 Million Stake in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 681,004 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,001 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.24% of Sapiens International worth $23,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,006,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,130,000 after purchasing an additional 44,685 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Sapiens International by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,383 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Sapiens International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $421,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Sapiens International by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,838 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $950,000 after acquiring an additional 7,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sapiens International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,807,000. 30.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sapiens International Price Performance

NASDAQ:SPNS opened at $35.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.97. Sapiens International Co. has a 1-year low of $24.39 and a 1-year high of $41.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72 and a beta of 1.25.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $136.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $137.78 million. Sapiens International had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Sapiens International’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Sapiens International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SPNS shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sapiens International from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

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.