Virtu Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD)

Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,299 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 17,018 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Banco Bradesco were worth $281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BBD. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Banco Bradesco by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 173,553 shares of the bank’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 21,844 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Bradesco during the fourth quarter worth about $14,111,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 1,334.2% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,759,101 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,994 shares during the last quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM purchased a new position in Banco Bradesco in the 4th quarter valued at about $860,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,317 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 5,421 shares during the last quarter.

Banco Bradesco Stock Performance

BBD opened at $2.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.65, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. Banco Bradesco S.A. has a twelve month low of $1.84 and a twelve month high of $2.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $2.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.26.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The bank reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.09. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 8.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Banco Bradesco S.A. will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.0398 per share. This is a boost from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 20.78%. Banco Bradesco’s payout ratio is presently 6.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BBD. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Banco Bradesco from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $2.40 to $2.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC upgraded Banco Bradesco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2.80 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Banco Bradesco Profile

Banco Bradesco SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, corporates, and businesses in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It provides current, savings, click, and salary accounts; real estate credit, vehicle financing, payroll loans, mortgage loans, microcredit, leasing, and personal and installment credit; overdraft and agribusiness loans; debit and business cards; financial and security services; consortium products; car, personal accident, dental, travel, and life insurance; investment products; pension products; foreign currency exchange services; capitalization bonds; and internet banking services.