Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) Stake Lifted by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) by 2,682.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,626 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 143,285 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Shift4 Payments were worth $15,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 153.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Shift4 Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in Shift4 Payments during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shift4 Payments Stock Performance

FOUR stock opened at $76.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.80. Shift4 Payments, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.87 and a 1-year high of $127.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.06. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The business had revenue of $405.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Shift4 Payments, Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Shift4 Payments

In other news, President David Taylor Lauber sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value of $229,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 264,856 shares in the company, valued at $24,287,295.20. This represents a 0.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Nancy Disman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.98, for a total transaction of $849,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 177,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,094,317.56. This trade represents a 5.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,695 shares of company stock valued at $1,097,380. 30.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FOUR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their target price on Shift4 Payments from $117.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $154.00 price target on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Shift4 Payments in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Shift4 Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.05.

Shift4 Payments Company Profile

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.