Marshall Wace LLP Raises Stock Holdings in Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD)

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD - Free Report) by 45.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,742,604 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 8,661,231 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.26% of Banco Bradesco worth $52,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBD. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Banco Bradesco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Traveka Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Bradesco during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 17,012 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 78.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 20,055 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 8,801 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Banco Bradesco by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,317 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 5,421 shares during the last quarter.

Banco Bradesco Stock Up 3.1 %

BBD stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.33. The company had a trading volume of 12,226,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,790,732. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $24.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.56. Banco Bradesco S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $1.84 and a fifty-two week high of $2.96.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The bank reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09. Banco Bradesco had a net margin of 8.46% and a return on equity of 11.43%. Analysts forecast that Banco Bradesco S.A. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.0398 per share. This is a boost from Banco Bradesco's previous monthly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 20.47%. Banco Bradesco's payout ratio is presently 6.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BBD. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Bradesco from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $2.40 to $2.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC raised Banco Bradesco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $2.80 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th.

About Banco Bradesco

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.