Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Position in Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 389,161 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 33,706 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Banco de Chile worth $8,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Banco de Chile by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 9,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Banco de Chile by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,416 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Banco de Chile by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,324 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Banco de Chile in the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000. 1.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BCH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Banco de Chile from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Banco de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Banco de Chile Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:BCH opened at $25.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Banco de Chile has a 1-year low of $21.19 and a 1-year high of $28.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.48 and a 200 day moving average of $24.59. The firm has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.31.

Banco de Chile Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were given a $2.1037 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. Banco de Chile’s payout ratio is presently 62.55%.

About Banco de Chile

Banco de Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking services to customers in Chile. The company offers checking and debit accounts, debit and credit cards, and lines of credit; mortgage, consume, commercial, general purpose mortgage loans, and finance leases; and factoring services, mutual fund management, stock brokerage, foreign trade, payments and collections, insurance brokerage, including life and general insurance, as well as time deposits, savings instruments, and foreign currency services through branches under the Banco de Chile and Banco Edwards brands.