StoneCo Ltd. $STNE Shares Purchased by BRC Global BAH Investments Ltd.

Key Points

• BRC Global BAH Investments increased its stake in StoneCo by 32.7% in the first quarter, buying 1.87 million additional shares and bringing its total holding to 7.58 million shares worth about $107 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with several other large funds also boosting positions and overall hedge fund/institutional ownership reported at 73.19% of StoneCo’s shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but slightly positive: the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” though several firms recently cut price targets, and StoneCo’s stock was trading near $10.52, well below its 52-week high of $19.95.

BRC Global BAH Investments Ltd. grew its stake in shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE - Free Report) by 32.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,580,409 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,867,018 shares during the quarter. StoneCo comprises about 100.0% of BRC Global BAH Investments Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. BRC Global BAH Investments Ltd. owned approximately 2.65% of StoneCo worth $107,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of STNE. State Street Corp grew its stake in StoneCo by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,714,651 shares of the company's stock worth $114,101,000 after buying an additional 1,440,760 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda raised its position in shares of StoneCo by 1,054.8% in the 4th quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 5,236,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,450,000 after buying an additional 4,783,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,856,536 shares of the company's stock worth $71,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251,385 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,415,683 shares of the company's stock worth $65,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085,506 shares during the period. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 3,387,830 shares of the company's stock worth $64,064,000 after acquiring an additional 56,837 shares during the period. 73.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at StoneCo

In related news, Director Silvio Jose Morais sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total transaction of $101,610.00. Following the sale, the director owned 21,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $237,090. This trade represents a 30.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of StoneCo from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on StoneCo from $19.50 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on StoneCo from $20.00 to $16.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on StoneCo from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut StoneCo from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, StoneCo has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.58.

StoneCo Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of StoneCo stock opened at $10.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 4.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm's 50 day moving average is $10.84 and its 200 day moving average is $13.59. StoneCo Ltd. has a 1 year low of $9.45 and a 1 year high of $19.95.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. StoneCo had a net margin of 23.82% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The business had revenue of $141.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $675.11 million. Equities research analysts forecast that StoneCo Ltd. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StoneCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were paid a $2.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th.

StoneCo Company Profile

StoneCo Ltd., commonly known as Stone, is a Brazilian financial technology company that provides integrated digital payment solutions and related financial services to merchants. Through its cloud-based platform, Stone enables businesses of all sizes to accept a variety of payment methods, including point-of-sale (POS) terminals, mobile card readers and e-commerce gateways. In addition to payment acceptance, the company offers value-added services such as working capital loans, digital banking products and automated billing tools designed to help merchants manage cash flow and streamline operations.

Since its founding in 2012 by André Street and Eduardo Pontes, Stone has focused on serving over half a million merchants across Brazil's retail, restaurant and services sectors.

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