The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company significantly increased its stake in Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) during the fourth quarter, according to its latest 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor now owns 870,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,542,000, representing 0.08% of BRF’s total holdings.
This move is part of a larger trend among institutional investors, with several other major players adjusting their positions in BRF during the same period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership initiated a new stake in BRF shares worth $9,258,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings by 16.6%, now owning 7,682,476 shares valued at $31,268,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position by 75.6%, holding 2,121,828 shares worth $8,636,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake by 16.0%, now owning 4,975,651 shares valued at $20,251,000. Walleye Capital LLC also acquired a new stake in BRF shares worth approximately $1,664,000.
Institutional investors collectively own 4.76% of BRF’s stock. The company’s shares opened at $3.38 on Friday, with a 1-year low of $2.99 and a 1-year high of $4.87. BRF has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86.
Recent analyst reports have been positive, with StockNews.com upgrading BRF from ‘buy’ to ‘strong-buy’ on April 24th. Citigroup also upgraded the stock from ‘hold’ to ‘strong-buy’ on January 22nd. Analysts forecast Brf S.A. will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.
