D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Boosts Position in Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Free Report) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,817 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,498 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.09% of Afya worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Afya by 92.3% in the 4th quarter. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC now owns 567,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,006,000 after purchasing an additional 272,200 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Afya in the fourth quarter valued at $829,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Afya by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 412,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,543,000 after buying an additional 50,700 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Afya by 109.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 40,054 shares of the company's stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 20,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Afya in the 4th quarter valued at about $329,000. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFYA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut Afya from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating and set a $15.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Afya presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $17.60.

Afya Trading Up 0.2%

Afya stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.39. The company had a trading volume of 8,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,545. Afya Limited has a 12-month low of $14.52 and a 12-month high of $19.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $18.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.60.

Afya Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 26th were given a $0.232 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 26th. Afya's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.42%.

Afya Profile

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.