Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 16,433 Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 16,433 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Banco Bradesco by 85.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,936,542 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,009 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,117,017 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,864,000 after purchasing an additional 421,994 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Banco Bradesco by 431.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,205,238 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,762,000 after buying an additional 5,848,994 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in Banco Bradesco by 402.4% in the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,802,819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,443,000 after buying an additional 1,443,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Banco Bradesco by 1,334.2% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,759,101 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,994 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Banco Bradesco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America raised shares of Banco Bradesco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Banco Bradesco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.40.

Banco Bradesco Stock Performance

NYSE BBD opened at $2.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.24. Banco Bradesco S.A. has a twelve month low of $1.84 and a twelve month high of $3.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The bank reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.24 billion. Banco Bradesco had a net margin of 8.46% and a return on equity of 11.43%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Banco Bradesco S.A. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bradesco Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.0021 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.88%. Banco Bradesco’s payout ratio is 6.25%.

Banco Bradesco Company 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.