Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in ACI Worldwide, Inc. $ACIW

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ACI Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACIW) by 79.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,659,385 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,280,684 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.09% of ACI Worldwide worth $509,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vestcor Inc raised its position in shares of ACI Worldwide by 73.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 14,091 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 5,968 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of ACI Worldwide by 1.0% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 203,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,728,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC increased its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide by 55.1% in the third quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 18,313 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 6,508 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in ACI Worldwide by 1,927.0% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 101,109 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,336,000 after acquiring an additional 96,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ACI Worldwide by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,797 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ACI Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ACIW opened at $41.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 1.07. ACI Worldwide, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.05 and a twelve month high of $57.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.84.

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $481.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $465.20 million. ACI Worldwide had a return on equity of 16.44% and a net margin of 12.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ACI Worldwide, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ACI Worldwide news, Director Adalio T. Sanchez purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.98 per share, with a total value of $122,940.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 64,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,638,210.44. This represents a 4.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Juan Benitez II acquired 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.90 per share, with a total value of $100,560.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,313.90. The trade was a 16.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ACIW. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ACI Worldwide from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of ACI Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ACI Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

ACI Worldwide Profile

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) is a global software company that provides electronic payment and banking solutions to financial institutions, merchants and billers. The company’s platforms enable real-time processing of credit, debit, ACH, bill payments, faster payments and money transfers, as well as integrated fraud prevention services. Headquartered in Naples, Florida, ACI serves clients across banking, payments and commerce sectors worldwide.

ACI’s modular suite of applications can be deployed on-premise, in the cloud or in hybrid environments to meet diverse operational needs.