Sands Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Nu Holdings Ltd. $NU

Sands Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,423,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,138,267 shares during the quarter. NU accounts for about 2.3% of Sands Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Sands Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.92% of NU worth $743,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in NU by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 257,256,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,306,481,000 after buying an additional 5,797,365 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in NU by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,350,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,031,411,000 after buying an additional 3,419,077 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in NU by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 91,478,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,464,569,000 after buying an additional 239,660 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in NU during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $763,792,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in NU by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 39,370,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,067,000 after buying an additional 17,809,644 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NU. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NU from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank lowered shares of NU to a “sector perform” rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of NU from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Itau BBA Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of NU in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of NU from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.08.

NU Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NU opened at $12.16 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.58 and its 200 day moving average is $15.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. Nu Holdings Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $11.20 and a fifty-two week high of $18.98.

NU (NYSE:NU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. NU had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 30.91%. Sell-side analysts expect that Nu Holdings Ltd. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NU announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 21,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.24, for a total transaction of $257,040.00. Following the sale, the director owned 162,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,984,716. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Cristina Helena Zing Junqueira sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.81, for a total transaction of $4,443,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,312,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,245,725.78. The trade was a 11.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

NU Company Profile

Nu Holdings Ltd (NYSE: NU), commonly known by its consumer brand Nubank, is a Latin American financial technology company that provides digital banking and financial services through a mobile-first platform. The company’s core offerings include no-fee digital checking accounts, credit cards, personal loans, payments and transfers, and a range of savings and investment products. Nubank emphasizes a streamlined customer experience delivered via its smartphone app, combined with data-driven underwriting and automated customer service tools.

Founded in 2013 by David Vélez, Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, Nu grew rapidly by targeting underbanked and digitally savvy consumers in Latin America with low-fee, transparent products.