Citigroup Inc. Acquires 1,144,341 Shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) by 584.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,339,972 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,144,341 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in StoneCo were worth $15,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Perspectives Inc raised its stake in shares of StoneCo by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 14,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of StoneCo by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 19,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in StoneCo by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 123,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in StoneCo by 90.2% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 4,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in StoneCo in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. 73.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StoneCo Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ STNE opened at $10.41 on Thursday. StoneCo Ltd. has a 12 month low of $9.06 and a 12 month high of $19.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 2.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.99 and a 200-day moving average of $12.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on STNE shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (down from $16.50) on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on StoneCo from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded StoneCo to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on StoneCo from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.89.

About StoneCo

StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil. It distributes its solutions, principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offer hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team.