Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 55,444,555 Shares of Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) by 170.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,965,525 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 55,444,555 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Banco Bradesco were worth $233,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BBD. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Bradesco during the first quarter worth about $681,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Banco Bradesco by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 21,780,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,788,000 after purchasing an additional 411,616 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 6,437.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,904,153 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,705,000 after buying an additional 7,783,248 shares in the last quarter. Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 1.0% during the second quarter. Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC now owns 3,724,611 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,343,000 after buying an additional 35,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 67.3% in the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 89,818 shares of the bank’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 36,125 shares in the last quarter.

Banco Bradesco Price Performance

Shares of Banco Bradesco stock opened at $2.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.57 and a 200 day moving average of $2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Banco Bradesco S.A. has a 12 month low of $2.16 and a 12 month high of $3.65.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 7.43%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.62 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banco Bradesco S.A. will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a $0.0033 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This is an increase from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Banco Bradesco’s payout ratio is 11.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Banco Bradesco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $2.50 to $3.20 in a research note on Monday, August 19th.

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.