Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 43,502 Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 43,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,474,000. Euronet Worldwide accounts for approximately 2.9% of Sovereign s Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EEFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $53,072,000. Voss Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 630,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,789,000 after purchasing an additional 113,236 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 302,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,157,000 after acquiring an additional 95,091 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 190,612 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,602,000 after acquiring an additional 70,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 175,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,000,000 after acquiring an additional 63,785 shares during the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on EEFT. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.57.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

NASDAQ:EEFT opened at $111.08 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $101.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.74. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.24 and a 12-month high of $117.66.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13. The company had revenue of $915.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.93 million. Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 27.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Research analysts expect that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Euronet Worldwide

In other Euronet Worldwide news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.69, for a total value of $9,565,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,418,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,875,686.54. This represents a 6.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 11.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Euronet Worldwide Profile

Euronet Worldwide, Inc provides payment and transaction processing and distribution solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers, and individual consumers worldwide. It operates through three segments: Electronic Fund Transfer Processing, epay, and Money Transfer. The Electronic Fund Transfer Processing segment provides electronic payment solutions, including automated teller machine (ATM) cash withdrawal and deposit services, ATM network participation, outsourced ATM and point-of-sale (POS) management solutions, credit and debit and prepaid card outsourcing, card issuing, and merchant acquiring services.