Magic Software Enterprises (NASDAQ:MGIC) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ:MGIC) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday after the company announced a dividend. 60,608 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 54,484 shares.The stock last traded at $13.92 and had previously closed at $13.88.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.327 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This is a positive change from Magic Software Enterprises’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.24. Magic Software Enterprises’s payout ratio is currently 86.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair lowered Magic Software Enterprises from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Magic Software Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Magic Software Enterprises from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Magic Software Enterprises Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $682.48 million, a PE ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.73 and its 200-day moving average is $11.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Magic Software Enterprises (NASDAQ:MGIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The software maker reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $142.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $137.00 million. Magic Software Enterprises had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 15.42%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Magic Software Enterprises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Magic Software Enterprises by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,000 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Magic Software Enterprises by 4,274.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,818 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 5,685 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Magic Software Enterprises during the third quarter worth about $115,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Magic Software Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth about $138,000. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Magic Software Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth about $145,000. 24.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Magic Software Enterprises

Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. provides proprietary application development, vertical software solutions, business process integration, information technologies (IT) outsourcing software services, and cloud-based services in Israel and internationally. Its Software Services segment develops, markets, sells, and supports application platform, software applications, and business and process integration solutions and related services.