Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. $BBVA Stock Position Cut by Ramirez Asset Management Inc.

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) by 98.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,233 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 193,650 shares during the period. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Archford Capital Strategies LLC bought a new position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,286,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,846,150 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $93,288,000 after buying an additional 297,752 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 250.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 246,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,738,000 after buying an additional 175,976 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,114,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,075,000. Institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BBVA shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE:BBVA opened at $22.22 on Friday. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. has a twelve month low of $14.63 and a twelve month high of $26.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.33 and a 200-day moving average of $22.69. The firm has a market cap of $126.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.81.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The company had revenue of $12.33 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) is a Spanish multinational financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank traces its roots to several historic regional banks and was formed through a series of mergers that consolidated its position as one of Spain’s largest banking groups. BBVA operates as a universal bank offering a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients.

BBVA’s core businesses include retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management, asset management, and insurance.