Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stock Holdings in Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,126 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 8,071 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Banco de Chile were worth $2,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banco de Chile by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,488 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Banco de Chile by 3.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 29,450 shares of the bank’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Banco de Chile by 14.1% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,691 shares of the bank’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,926 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 14,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. 1.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Banco de Chile from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banco de Chile currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.00.

Banco de Chile Price Performance

BCH opened at $22.61 on Wednesday. Banco de Chile has a 52-week low of $19.20 and a 52-week high of $24.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.07. The company has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.15. Banco de Chile had a net margin of 28.62% and a return on equity of 25.45%. The business had revenue of $987.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $872.49 million. On average, analysts expect that Banco de Chile will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco de Chile Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a Variable dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a $1.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 4.8%. Banco de Chile’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.00%.

Banco de Chile Profile

Banco de Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking services to customers in Chile. The company offers checking and debit accounts, debit and credit cards, and lines of credit; mortgage, consume, commercial, general purpose mortgage loans, and finance leases; and factoring services, mutual fund management, stock brokerage, foreign trade, payments and collections, insurance brokerage, including life and general insurance, as well as time deposits, savings instruments, and foreign currency services through branches under the Banco de Chile and Banco Edwards brands.