Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,766 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 911 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria were worth $134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,370,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,055,000 after purchasing an additional 344,355 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,226,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,645,000 after acquiring an additional 156,006 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,043,054 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,138,000 after acquiring an additional 40,352 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 771,981 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,504,000 after acquiring an additional 12,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the 4th quarter worth about $7,333,000. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BBVA shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Price Performance

BBVA stock opened at $13.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.03. The firm has a market cap of $80.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.01. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.4439 dividend. This is a boost from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. This represents a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. 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.