Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 651,032 Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,842,841 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 651,032 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria were worth $66,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBVA. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the fourth quarter worth about $7,333,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,370,344 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,055,000 after acquiring an additional 344,355 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,208,000. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 105.5% in 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 stake in shares of 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Kepler Capital Markets raised Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Down 0.8 %

BBVA stock opened at $13.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.06. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. has a 1-year low of $9.23 and a 1-year high of $14.84.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.4439 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is an increase from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is 39.23%.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Profile

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.