Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,400 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Sapiens International were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $42,168,000 after buying an additional 926,405 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Sapiens International by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 603,429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,490,000 after buying an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Sapiens International by 14.6% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in Sapiens International by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 234,297 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,338,000 after buying an additional 28,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,878 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,630,000 after purchasing an additional 32,780 shares in the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sapiens International Stock Performance

Sapiens International stock opened at $28.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.24. Sapiens International Co. has a one year low of $25.01 and a one year high of $41.22.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $134.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.89 million. Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 13.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPNS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Sapiens International in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Sapiens International in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Sapiens International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Sapiens International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

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.