Northern Trust Corp Buys 421,994 Shares of Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,117,017 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 421,994 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Banco Bradesco were worth $7,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBD. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Banco Bradesco in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 17,012 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 78.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 20,055 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 8,801 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Banco Bradesco in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,421 shares in the last quarter.

Banco Bradesco Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Banco Bradesco stock opened at $2.74 on Monday. Banco Bradesco S.A. has a 1 year low of $1.84 and a 1 year high of $2.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $2.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.17. The company has a market capitalization of $29.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.65. 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 (NYSE:BBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The bank reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.24 billion. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 8.46%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banco Bradesco S.A. will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Banco Bradesco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.0022 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.08%. Banco Bradesco’s payout ratio is presently 6.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BBD. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Bradesco from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $2.40 to $2.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America upgraded Banco Bradesco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Banco Bradesco Profile

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.