Barclays PLC Increases Stock Holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA)

Barclays PLC increased its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA - Free Report) by 838.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,441 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 31,663 shares during the period. Barclays PLC's holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the fourth quarter worth about $7,333,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,208,000. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 105.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 539,796 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,247,000 after acquiring an additional 277,164 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 189.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 397,979 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,868,000 after acquiring an additional 260,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,046,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on BBVA shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE BBVA traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $14.98. 507,389 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,804,830. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.80. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. has a 12-month low of $9.23 and a 12-month high of $15.04. The firm has a market cap of $87.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.05. 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 (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 28.10%. The business had revenue of $10.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.12 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid 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 payout ratio is 39.15%.

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.