AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 73,053 Shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) by 36.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,053 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.59% of Euronet Worldwide worth $28,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the second quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 174.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 69.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Euronet Worldwide during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Euronet Worldwide Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Euronet Worldwide stock opened at $100.03 on Monday. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.84 and a 1 year high of $117.66. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $100.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.21. Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 27.81% and a net margin of 7.46%. The firm had revenue of $986.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on EEFT shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Euronet Worldwide has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas A. Mcdonnell acquired 3,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $93.86 per share, with a total value of $300,915.16. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 90,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,447,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Euronet Worldwide news, CEO Juan Bianchi sold 4,000 shares of Euronet Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.58, for a total transaction of $410,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,095.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Mcdonnell bought 3,206 shares of Euronet Worldwide stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $93.86 per share, with a total value of $300,915.16. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 90,000 shares in the company, valued at $8,447,400. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Euronet Worldwide Company 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.