Royce & Associates LP Sells 143,289 Shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

Royce & Associates LP lowered its stake in shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 562,756 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 143,289 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.01% of Sapiens International worth $20,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPNS. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Sapiens International by 8.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 134,486 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,325,000 after purchasing an additional 10,523 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in Sapiens International by 1.9% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 74,258 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Sapiens International by 9.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 954,791 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,687,000 after purchasing an additional 79,302 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Sapiens International by 8.5% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 153,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,933,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Sapiens International during the first quarter worth about $192,000. Institutional investors own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Sapiens International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPNS opened at $28.00 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.79 and a 200 day moving average of $35.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05 and a beta of 1.25. Sapiens International Co. has a 12 month low of $25.00 and a 12 month high of $41.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last announced its 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). Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 17.61%. The company had revenue of $137.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.