Mariner LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Nu Holdings Ltd. $NU

Key Points

• Mariner LLC increased its stake in Nu Holdings by 59.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 3.83 million shares worth about $64.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised holdings, and hedge funds and institutions now own 84.02% of Nu’s stock, showing continued strong professional interest.
• Analysts have turned more cautious: multiple firms downgraded NU or cut price targets, while the stock recently traded at $12.45 after NU reported earnings of $0.19 per share, slightly below estimates.

Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU - Free Report) by 59.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,834,527 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,436,701 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC owned about 0.08% of NU worth $64,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NU. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of NU by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 257,256,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,306,481,000 after acquiring an additional 5,797,365 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of NU by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,350,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,031,411,000 after acquiring an additional 3,419,077 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of NU by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 91,478,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,464,569,000 after acquiring an additional 239,660 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NU in the fourth quarter valued at $763,792,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of NU by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 39,370,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $659,067,000 after acquiring an additional 17,809,644 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other NU news, CEO Cristina Helena Zing Junqueira sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.81, for a total transaction of $4,443,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,312,338 shares in the company, valued at $34,245,725.78. This represents a 11.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Anita M. Sands sold 21,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.24, for a total transaction of $257,040.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 162,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,984,716. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NU. Scotiabank downgraded shares of NU to a "sector perform" rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna downgraded shares of NU from a "positive" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NU from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of NU in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of NU from $18.10 to $16.90 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.08.

NU Trading Up 2.1%

NU stock opened at $12.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.95. Nu Holdings Ltd. has a 12 month low of $11.20 and a 12 month high of $18.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $13.54 and its 200 day moving average is $15.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

NU (NYSE:NU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. NU had a return on equity of 30.91% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nu Holdings Ltd. will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

NU announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

NU Company Profile

Nu Holdings Ltd NYSE: NU, commonly known by its consumer brand Nubank, is a Latin American financial technology company that provides digital banking and financial services through a mobile-first platform. The company’s core offerings include no-fee digital checking accounts, credit cards, personal loans, payments and transfers, and a range of savings and investment products. Nubank emphasizes a streamlined customer experience delivered via its smartphone app, combined with data-driven underwriting and automated customer service tools.

Founded in 2013 by David Vélez, Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, Nu grew rapidly by targeting underbanked and digitally savvy consumers in Latin America with low-fee, transparent products.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.