Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in StoneCo Ltd. $STNE

by · The Cerbat Gem

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE – Free Report) by 275.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 314,908 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 231,143 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in StoneCo were worth $4,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of STNE. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in StoneCo by 11,473.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of StoneCo during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of StoneCo in the third quarter worth $37,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 73.19% of the company’s stock.

StoneCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STNE opened at $11.38 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.55, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.73. StoneCo Ltd. has a one year low of $9.45 and a one year high of $19.95.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. StoneCo had a net margin of 23.82% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The company had revenue of $141.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $675.11 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that StoneCo Ltd. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Silvio Jose Morais sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total value of $101,610.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,090. This represents a 30.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STNE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered StoneCo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on StoneCo from $20.00 to $16.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on StoneCo from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded StoneCo from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price objective on StoneCo from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.59.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on STNE

StoneCo Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding STNE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE – Free Report).