Swedbank AB Purchases 119,200 Shares of Afya Limited $AFYA

Key Points

• Swedbank AB significantly boosted its stake in Afya, buying 119,200 additional shares in the fourth quarter and raising its holdings by 170.3% to 189,200 shares valued at about $2.9 million.
• Insider selling continued at Afya, with the CFO and a vice president selling shares in April; insiders have sold 123,547 shares worth about $1.85 million over the last 90 days.
• Afya’s stock dipped and analysts remain cautious, with shares down 2.2% and a consensus Wall Street rating of “Hold,” even though the company beat EPS estimates in its latest quarter.

Swedbank AB increased its position in Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Free Report) by 170.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 189,200 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 119,200 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.20% of Afya worth $2,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Afya by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 30,697 shares of the company's stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 5,599 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd increased its stake in Afya by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 46,207 shares of the company's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 10,288 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new stake in Afya in the 4th quarter worth $508,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Afya in the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new stake in Afya in the 3rd quarter worth $419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Afya

In related news, CFO Luis Andre Carpintero Blanco sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.20, for a total value of $152,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $776,765.60. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP De Sousa Anibal Jose Grifo sold 14,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.41, for a total transaction of $215,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 31,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $477,710. This trade represents a 31.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 123,547 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,920 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Afya Trading Down 2.2%

Afya stock opened at $13.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. Afya Limited has a 1 year low of $13.00 and a 1 year high of $18.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $14.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.59.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $147.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.74 million. Afya had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 17.94%. On average, equities analysts predict that Afya Limited will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Afya Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th were issued a $0.656 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 433.0%. Afya's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered Afya from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Afya from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Afya from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Afya from $22.00 to $21.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Afya in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Afya currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.20.

Afya Profile

Afya Ltd. operates as a leading provider of medical education and training services in Brazil. The company offers a comprehensive suite of educational programs that span undergraduate medical degrees, residency exam preparation, continuing medical education (CME) and digital learning platforms. Through a network of partner institutions and its own campus operations, Afya supports students at every stage of the medical training continuum, from enrollment in medical schools to ongoing professional development for practicing physicians.

At the core of Afya's offerings is its undergraduate medical program, delivered through a combination of in-person courses at affiliated campuses and fully digital curricula.

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