Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Holdings in NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 523,003 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 34,899 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.83% of NICE worth $88,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NICE in the fourth quarter valued at $313,808,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in NICE by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,670,327 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $283,349,000 after purchasing an additional 151,528 shares in the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of NICE by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 704,494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $119,517,000 after purchasing an additional 87,003 shares during the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of NICE by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 405,309 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,838,000 after buying an additional 117,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New South Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NICE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,980,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.34% of the company’s stock.

NICE Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NICE opened at $157.70 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.12. NICE Ltd. has a 1-year low of $137.19 and a 1-year high of $256.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $158.52 and a 200-day moving average of $169.15.

NICE (NASDAQ:NICE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.96 by ($0.71). NICE had a net margin of 16.18% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $721.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.47 million. Research analysts expect that NICE Ltd. will post 9.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of NICE from $176.00 to $161.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $215.00) on shares of NICE in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on NICE from $286.00 to $226.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on NICE from $279.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of NICE in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.64.

NICE Profile

NICE Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud platforms for AI-driven digital business solutions worldwide. It offers CXone, a cloud native open platform; Enlighten, an AI engine for the customer engagement market; and smart self service enable organizations to address consumers' needs; and journey orchestration solutions that empower organizations to connect and route customers to deal with the customer's request, and connects them using real time AI-based routing.