Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) by 1,334.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,759,101 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 3,496,994 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Banco Bradesco were worth $7,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Monaco Asset Management SAM purchased a new stake in Banco Bradesco in the fourth quarter worth about $860,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Banco Bradesco by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,317 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 5,421 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 214,322 shares of the bank’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 10,938 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Bradesco during the fourth quarter worth about $507,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 402.4% during the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,802,819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,986 shares in the last quarter.

Banco Bradesco Stock Performance

NYSE:BBD opened at $2.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Banco Bradesco S.A. has a 1 year low of $1.84 and a 1 year high of $2.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.28. The company has a market cap of $23.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.94.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The bank reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 8.46%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Banco Bradesco S.A. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.0033 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. This is a positive change from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. Banco Bradesco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Banco Bradesco from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $2.40 to $2.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC upgraded Banco Bradesco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2.80 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Banco Bradesco from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th.

About Banco Bradesco

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.