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

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sapiens International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in Sapiens International by 57.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,945 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sapiens International by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $192,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $232,000. 30.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPNS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Sapiens International from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sapiens International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Sapiens International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPNS opened at $27.73 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.23. Sapiens International Co. has a one year low of $25.30 and a one year 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 1.25.

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

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.