Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stake in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) by 22.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,154 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Euronet Worldwide were worth $3,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Euronet Worldwide during the third quarter worth about $100,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $109,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 131.8% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 53.3% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Euronet Worldwide Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Euronet Worldwide stock opened at $105.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.07 and a fifty-two week high of $117.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $102.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.16.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 8.49%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.53 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nikos Fountas sold 21,479 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.56, for a total value of $2,224,365.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,423,437.20. This trade represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Martin L. Bruckner sold 9,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.31, for a total value 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 approximately $4,290,575.73. This trade represents a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,910 shares of company stock valued at $8,780,102 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on EEFT shares. Citigroup lowered Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $118.00 to $110.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Euronet Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.25.

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.