Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Sezzle Inc. $SEZL

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its holdings in Sezzle Inc. (162.1%) in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 20,173 shares, representing approximately $1.14 million in value.
• Multiple hedge funds have also boosted their investments in Sezzle, with Vanguard Group Inc. raising its stake by 497.6% and owning over $35 million worth of shares.
• Sezzle stock is up 3.4% and has exhibited notable volatility, with a fifty-two week range of $20.74 to $186.74 and a current market cap of $3.26 billion.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Free Report) by 162.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,620 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,173 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of Sezzle worth $1,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sezzle by 497.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,013,698 shares of the company's stock worth $35,368,000 after buying an additional 844,084 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sezzle by 483.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 120,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,210,000 after acquiring an additional 99,964 shares during the period. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC lifted its stake in Sezzle by 275.9% during the 4th quarter. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC now owns 102,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,141,000 after acquiring an additional 75,007 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Sezzle by 584.5% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 50,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,748,000 after acquiring an additional 42,786 shares during the period. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Sezzle by 381.4% during the 1st quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 41,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 33,058 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.02% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 5,484 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.02, for a total transaction of $921,421.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 126,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,312,664.92. This represents a 4.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Paradis sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total transaction of $546,090.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 260,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,327,800. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,696 shares of company stock worth $10,476,922. Company insiders own 49.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SEZL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Sezzle from $168.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sezzle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Sezzle from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $124.33.

Sezzle Price Performance

NASDAQ:SEZL traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $94.60. 1,182,509 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,352,795. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $133.14 and its 200-day moving average is $90.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42 and a beta of 9.04. Sezzle Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.74 and a twelve month high of $186.74.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $60.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.33 million. Sezzle had a net margin of 28.13% and a return on equity of 102.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sezzle Company Profile

Sezzle Inc operates as a technology-enabled payments company primarily in the United States and Canada. The company provides payment solution in-store and at online retail stores; and through proprietary payments solution that connects consumers with merchants. It also offers Sezzle Platform that provides a payments solution for consumers that extends credit at the point-of-sale allowing consumers to purchase and receive the ordered merchandise at the time of sale while paying in installments over time; Pay-in-Four, which allows consumers to pay a fourth of the purchase price up front and then another fourth of the purchase price every two weeks thereafter over a total of six weeks; Pay-in-Full that allows consumers to pay for the full value of their order up-front through the Sezzle Platform without the extension of credit; and Pay-in-Two and other alternative installment options, which allow consumer to pay half of the value of their order up-front and the second half in two weeks.