Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) by 67.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,413 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Euronet Worldwide were worth $1,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 0.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 18,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 0.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,674 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 3.6% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 21.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 23,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

Euronet Worldwide stock opened at $102.46 on Friday. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.07 and a 12-month high of $117.66. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $100.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 27.74% and a net margin of 7.69%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Euronet Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Euronet Worldwide news, CEO Nikos Fountas sold 21,479 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.56, for a total transaction of $2,224,365.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,423,437.20. This trade represents a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 10.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.