Millennium Management LLC Buys 796,526 Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA)

Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) by 514.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 951,350 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 796,526 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria were worth $9,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,481,085 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,596,000 after acquiring an additional 163,044 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,418,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424,880 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,108,410 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,654,000 after purchasing an additional 613,563 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the 4th quarter worth $27,647,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Performance

Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock opened at $15.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.08. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. has a one year low of $9.23 and a one year high of $15.66. 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 (NYSE:BBVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $10.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.4439 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BBVA shares. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Company 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.