Earnest Partners LLC Boosts Stake in HDFC Bank Limited $HDB

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in HDFC Bank Limited by 2.3%, holding 1,234,984 shares valued at approximately $82 million after acquiring an additional 27,941 shares in the first quarter.
• Several other hedge funds also adjusted their positions, with B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG notably increasing its holdings by 43.6%.
• HDFC Bank's stock was recently upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating, with an average rating of "Strong Buy" among analysts, suggesting positive outlook amidst mixed earnings for the quarter.

Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,234,984 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 27,941 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC's holdings in HDFC Bank were worth $82,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in HDFC Bank by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,015,588 shares of the bank's stock worth $64,855,000 after acquiring an additional 347,488 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of HDFC Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $580,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its stake in shares of HDFC Bank by 21.3% during the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 193,223 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,778,000 after purchasing an additional 33,983 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of HDFC Bank by 20.6% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,238,560 shares of the bank's stock valued at $148,730,000 after purchasing an additional 382,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of HDFC Bank by 7.2% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,553,975 shares of the bank's stock valued at $103,246,000 after purchasing an additional 104,162 shares in the last quarter. 17.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HDFC Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HDFC Bank currently has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

HDFC Bank Stock Performance

HDB traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,483,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,573,918. The company has a market capitalization of $181.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.64. HDFC Bank Limited has a twelve month low of $57.78 and a twelve month high of $79.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.86.

HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, July 19th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. HDFC Bank had a net margin of 14.49% and a return on equity of 11.60%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HDFC Bank Limited will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

HDFC Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.1707 dividend. This represents a yield of 101.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. HDFC Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.63%.

About HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank Limited provides banking and financial services to individuals and businesses in India, Bahrain, Hong Kong, and Dubai. The company operates in three segments: Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking, and Treasury Services. It accepts savings, salary, current, rural, public provident fund, pension, and demat accounts; fixed and recurring deposits; and safe deposit lockers, as well as offshore accounts and deposits, and overdrafts against fixed deposits.