SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $248.83.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of SAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on SAP from $283.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded SAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $240.00 to $305.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of SAP in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on SAP from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

SAP Stock Performance

SAP stock opened at $241.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $275.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.56. SAP has a 52 week low of $175.08 and a 52 week high of $293.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.98, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

SAP (NYSE:SAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The software maker reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.02). SAP had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 12.18%. Equities research analysts anticipate that SAP will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

SAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $2.5423 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from SAP’s previous annual dividend of $2.39. This represents a yield of 0.8%. SAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SAP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAP. Principal Street Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of SAP by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in SAP by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 955 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC increased its stake in SAP by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 11,087 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,730,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in SAP by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Group Inc. increased its position in shares of SAP by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 1,089 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during 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.