Norges Bank Acquires New Holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 330,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,208,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BBVA. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Avion Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,420 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BBVA. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Performance

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock opened at $12.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. has a 12 month low of $9.23 and a 12 month high of $14.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.20. The company has a market cap of $73.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.00.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. 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 business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.4439 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. This represents a dividend yield of 4.3%. 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.