Altshuler Shaham Ltd Reduces Holdings in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd decreased its position in shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) by 86.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,471 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 95,916 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Sapiens International were worth $494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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 worth $29,130,000 after purchasing an additional 44,685 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Sapiens International by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,383 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Sapiens International during the fourth quarter worth $421,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,838 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $950,000 after purchasing an additional 7,621 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sapiens International in the first quarter worth about $3,807,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

Sapiens International Price Performance

Shares of SPNS opened at $35.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.03. Sapiens International Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.39 and a fifty-two week 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company had revenue of $136.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $137.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Sapiens International’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 earnings per share 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 is a boost from Sapiens International’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. Sapiens International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SPNS shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Sapiens International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Sapiens International from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

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.