North Star Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in ACI Worldwide, Inc. $ACIW

North Star Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACIW) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 626,110 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 18,359 shares during the period. ACI Worldwide accounts for about 1.2% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in ACI Worldwide were worth $29,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACIW. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in ACI Worldwide by 226.8% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 536 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in ACI Worldwide by 93.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 532 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in ACI Worldwide by 51.9% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 626 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ACI Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in ACI Worldwide during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Juan Benitez II acquired 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $41.90 per share, with a total value of $100,560.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 16,881 shares in the company, valued at $707,313.90. This trade represents a 16.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Adalio T. Sanchez acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $40.98 per share, for a total transaction of $122,940.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 64,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,210.44. This represents a 4.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ACIW. Zacks Research cut ACI Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings cut ACI Worldwide from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of ACI Worldwide in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ACI Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.00.

ACI Worldwide Trading Up 0.5%

ACIW opened at $42.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.83. ACI Worldwide, Inc. has a one year low of $38.05 and a one year high of $54.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53.

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $425.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.08 million. ACI Worldwide had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.51%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that ACI Worldwide, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

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.