Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 1,353,750 Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,906,926 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,353,750 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.08% of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria worth $47,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BBVA. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the 4th quarter valued at $7,333,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 5.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,370,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,055,000 after acquiring an additional 344,355 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the fourth quarter worth about $3,208,000. Summit Global Investments boosted its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 539,796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,247,000 after purchasing an additional 277,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 189.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 397,979 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,868,000 after purchasing an additional 260,472 shares during the last quarter. 2.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BBVA. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Up 0.8 %

BBVA opened at $13.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.08. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. has a 1-year low of $9.23 and a 1-year high of $14.84. The stock has a market cap of $80.18 billion, a PE ratio of 7.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.10% and a return on equity of 17.49%. As a group, research analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.4439 dividend. This is an increase from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.3%. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.23%.

About Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and internationally. The company offers savings account, demand deposits, and time deposits; and loan products, such as residential mortgages, other households, credit card loans, loans to enterprises and public sector, as well as consumer finance.