Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,767 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 9,625 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Sapiens International were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 451.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,131,426 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,168,000 after acquiring an additional 926,405 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Sapiens International by 2.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,036,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,183,000 after buying an additional 25,623 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 14.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 681,004 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,106,000 after purchasing an additional 87,001 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 0.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 603,429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 594,552 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,159,000 after buying an additional 75,866 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

Sapiens International Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ SPNS opened at $26.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62 and a beta of 1.15. Sapiens International Co. has a 52-week low of $26.09 and a 52-week high of $41.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.18.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The technology company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.01). Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 17.61%. The firm had revenue of $137.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sapiens International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Sapiens International from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Sapiens International from $38.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sapiens International in a report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

Sapiens International Profile

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.