SAP (NYSE:SAP) Now Covered by Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of SAP (NYSE:SAP) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $227.00 price objective on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of SAP in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an overweight rating for the company. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of SAP from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised SAP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded SAP from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on SAP from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $216.40.

SAP Price Performance

SAP stock opened at $195.38 on Thursday. SAP has a 52 week low of $126.75 and a 52 week high of $199.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $188.70 and a 200 day moving average of $173.88.

SAP (NYSE:SAP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The software maker reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $8.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.73 billion. SAP had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 15.76%. Equities analysts predict that SAP will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $2.3852 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This is a positive change from SAP’s previous annual dividend of $2.19. SAP’s payout ratio is presently 37.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SAP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in SAP by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,779 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of SAP by 4.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 160,023 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $20,694,000 after purchasing an additional 7,474 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in SAP by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in SAP by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,920 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,705,000 after purchasing an additional 13,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SAP by 46.4% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter.

About SAP

SAP SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides applications, technology, and services worldwide. It offers SAP S/4HANA that provides software capabilities for finance, risk and project management, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain and asset management, and research and development; SAP SuccessFactors solutions for human resources, including HR and payroll, talent and employee experience management, and people and workforce analytics; and spend management solutions that covers direct and indirect spend, travel and expense, and external workforce management.