ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC Takes Position in Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD)

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 252,500 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Banco Bradesco by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 100,202,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $191,386,000 after purchasing an additional 12,236,689 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Banco Bradesco by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 56,809,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $108,507,000 after buying an additional 9,762,964 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 50,826,745 shares of the bank’s stock worth $97,079,000 after buying an additional 10,537,751 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Banco Bradesco by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 45,810,825 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,499,000 after buying an additional 821,239 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Banco Bradesco by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 27,742,604 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,988,000 after acquiring an additional 8,661,231 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised Banco Bradesco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America raised Banco Bradesco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.40.

Banco Bradesco Price Performance

Banco Bradesco stock opened at $2.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.24. The stock has a market cap of $31.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.71. Banco Bradesco S.A. has a 12-month low of $1.84 and a 12-month high of $3.02.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The bank reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.24 billion. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 8.46%. Equities analysts expect that Banco Bradesco S.A. will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bradesco Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.0021 per share. This represents a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. 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.