Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Has $28.50 Million Stock Holdings in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lessened its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 277,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,969 shares during the quarter. Euronet Worldwide comprises about 2.6% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Euronet Worldwide were worth $28,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 18,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,793,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,674 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 23,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Euronet Worldwide

In other Euronet Worldwide news, SVP Martin L. Bruckner sold 9,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.31, for a total transaction of $1,008,392.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,290,575.73. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Caponecchi sold 52,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $5,547,344.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,288 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,603.68. The trade was a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 82,910 shares of company stock valued at $8,780,102. 10.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Euronet Worldwide Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Euronet Worldwide stock opened at $104.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.82 and its 200 day moving average is $100.88. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.07 and a 1 year high of $117.66.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.23). Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 26.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EEFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup cut shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Euronet Worldwide has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

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.