Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. by 3.8%, selling 33,185 shares, leaving it with 834,614 shares valued at approximately $11.37 million.
• Other institutional investors such as Dimensional Fund Advisors and Northern Trust Corp have significantly increased their positions in the bank, indicating ongoing investment interest despite Natixis's sale.
• Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.52, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.47, while its stock price hovered around $17.07.

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 834,614 shares of the bank's stock after selling 33,185 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria were worth $11,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBVA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,481,085 shares of the bank's stock valued at $111,596,000 after purchasing an additional 163,044 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,418,877 shares of the bank's stock valued at $72,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424,880 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 13.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,647,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 5.8% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,296,544 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,659,000 after purchasing an additional 71,217 shares during the period. 2.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Performance

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $18.04. 1,068,638 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,369,418. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.12. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $9.23 and a fifty-two week high of $18.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.24 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.61% and a net margin of 29.17%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya 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.