Banco De Chile $BCH Holdings Raised by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 63,284 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,911 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Banco De Chile were worth $2,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. increased its stake in shares of Banco De Chile by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 77,835 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,958,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Banco De Chile during the fourth quarter valued at $279,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its position in Banco De Chile by 440.3% during the fourth quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 51,325 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 41,825 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Banco De Chile by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 494,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,775,000 after purchasing an additional 258,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Banco De Chile by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco De Chile Price Performance

NYSE BCH opened at $35.48 on Wednesday. Banco De Chile has a fifty-two week low of $27.08 and a fifty-two week high of $46.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.99. The firm has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $321.27 million during the quarter. Banco De Chile had a net margin of 29.95% and a return on equity of 19.47%. On average, analysts anticipate that Banco De Chile will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco De Chile Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a dividend of $2.1877 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Banco De Chile’s payout ratio is presently 68.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Banco De Chile from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group set a $48.00 price target on Banco De Chile and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Banco De Chile from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Banco De Chile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco De Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

About Banco De Chile

Banco de Chile (NYSE: BCH) is a leading Chilean financial institution headquartered in Santiago. Founded in 1893, the bank is one of the country’s oldest and most established banking groups, serving a broad spectrum of individual, corporate and institutional clients. It is publicly listed and operates under Chilean banking regulations while participating in international capital markets.

The bank’s core businesses include retail banking, commercial and corporate banking, and investment banking.