14,378 Shares in Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Acquired by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AFYA. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Afya by 92.3% during the 4th 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 50,700 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Afya by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 56,341 shares of the company's stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Afya during the fourth quarter worth $829,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Afya by 109.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 40,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 20,957 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "sell" rating and set a $15.00 target price (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Afya from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $17.60.

Afya Price Performance

AFYA stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.28. The stock had a trading volume of 136,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,114. Afya Limited has a 52-week low of $14.52 and a 52-week high of $19.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $18.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.07. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.60.

Afya Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 26th. Afya's payout ratio is presently 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.