516,061 Shares in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 516,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $53,072,000. Norges Bank owned 1.17% of Euronet Worldwide as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Euronet Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 485.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 121.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 989 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.69, for a total transaction of $9,565,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,418,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,875,686.54. This trade represents a 6.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 10.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EEFT has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Euronet Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.86.

Euronet Worldwide Trading Down 7.9 %

Shares of EEFT opened at $93.18 on Friday. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a one year low of $91.07 and a one year high of $117.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.18.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.23). Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 27.74%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Euronet Worldwide

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.