Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Holdings in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,540 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Sapiens International were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SPNS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Sapiens International by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,036,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,183,000 after purchasing an additional 25,623 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Sapiens International by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 681,004 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,106,000 after purchasing an additional 87,001 shares in 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 purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Sapiens International by 14.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 594,552 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,159,000 after buying an additional 75,866 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International during the second quarter worth approximately $6,915,000. Institutional investors own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

Sapiens International Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of SPNS opened at $27.13 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36 and a beta of 1.15. Sapiens International Co. has a 52 week low of $26.34 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.17.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.