Bamco Inc. NY Lowers Stock Position in Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA)

Bamco Inc. NY decreased its holdings in Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Free Report) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,383,701 shares of the company's stock after selling 142,942 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY owned 2.54% of Afya worth $37,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Afya during the fourth quarter worth $329,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Afya by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 412,000 shares of the company's stock worth $6,543,000 after buying an additional 50,700 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Afya during the 4th quarter valued at about $829,000. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Afya by 92.3% during the fourth quarter. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC now owns 567,109 shares of the company's stock worth $9,006,000 after buying an additional 272,200 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Afya by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AFYA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Afya from $25.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating and set a $15.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Afya from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $17.60.

Afya Stock Performance

AFYA traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $19.39. 201,689 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 124,603. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Afya Limited has a 1 year low of $14.52 and a 1 year high of $20.06. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $17.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.60.

Afya Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 26th were given a dividend of $0.232 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 26th. Afya's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.69%.

About Afya

Afya Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a medical education group in Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Undergrad, Continuing Education, and Digital Services. It offers educational products and services, including medical schools, medical residency preparatory courses, graduate courses, and other programs to lifelong medical learners enrolled across its distribution network, as well as to third-party medical schools.