Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on PagSeguro Digital (NYSE:PAGS)

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 5,014 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 280% compared to the average daily volume of 1,321 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAGS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PagSeguro Digital in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Bank of America cut shares of PagSeguro Digital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of PagSeguro Digital from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on PagSeguro Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $10.40 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.73.

PagSeguro Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PAGS opened at $10.77 on Wednesday. PagSeguro Digital has a fifty-two week low of $8.42 and a fifty-two week high of $12.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.48. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.27.

PagSeguro Digital (NYSE:PAGS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. PagSeguro Digital had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 16.36%. The firm had revenue of $942.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that PagSeguro Digital will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

PagSeguro Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from PagSeguro Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. PagSeguro Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 78.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PagSeguro Digital

In other news, insider Silva Dutra sold 25,000 shares of PagSeguro Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.24, for a total value of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PagSeguro Digital

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAGS. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,986,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,907,000 after buying an additional 1,001,581 shares during the period. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. grew its holdings in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 224.2% in the first quarter. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. now owns 1,175,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,775,000 after acquiring an additional 812,641 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in PagSeguro Digital by 168.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 611,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,123,000 after acquiring an additional 383,452 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in PagSeguro Digital during the second quarter valued at $4,407,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in PagSeguro Digital by 15.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 479,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,805,000 after acquiring an additional 63,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.88% of the company’s stock.

About PagSeguro Digital

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. is a Brazilian financial technology company that operates the PagBank ecosystem. The company provides payment acceptance and digital banking services primarily to micro, small and medium-sized businesses, self-employed professionals and individual consumers in Brazil.

Its products and services include point-of-sale payment terminals, online payment processing, digital accounts, payment cards, money transfers, bill payment and other financial services. PagSeguro also offers tools designed to help merchants manage transactions and business finances through digital platforms and mobile applications.

PagSeguro was developed as part of Brazil’s UOL group and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018.