Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Green Dot Co. (NYSE:GDOT) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $11.02, but opened at $11.62. Green Dot shares last traded at $11.13, with a volume of 27,327 shares traded.

Specifically, major shareholder Topline Capital Partners, Lp purchased 162,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.87 per share, for a total transaction of $1,925,824.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,157,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,091,483.55. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Topline Capital Management, Ll purchased 36,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.49 per share, for a total transaction of $458,020.79. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 5,995,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,882,820.78. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GDOT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Green Dot in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Green Dot from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.50.

Green Dot Stock Up 1.4 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.82. The firm has a market cap of $594.36 million, a PE ratio of -23.45 and a beta of 0.91.

Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $407.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.87 million. Green Dot had a positive return on equity of 4.01% and a negative net margin of 3.41%. Green Dot’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. Research analysts expect that Green Dot Co. will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Green Dot

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Green Dot in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,254,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Green Dot by 79.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 322,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,049,000 after buying an additional 142,377 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Green Dot by 41.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 157,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 46,179 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Green Dot in the 2nd quarter worth $685,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Green Dot by 40.5% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 18,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 5,390 shares during the period. 92.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Green Dot

Green Dot Corporation, a financial technology and registered bank holding company, provides various financial services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer Services, Business to Business Services, and Money Movement Services. The company provides deposit account programs, including consumer and small business checking account products, network-branded reloadable prepaid debit cards and gift cards, and secured credit programs.