Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Invests $836,000 in Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new stake in Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 36,852 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $836,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Banco de Chile by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,416 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Banco de Chile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Banco de Chile by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 15,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 4,434 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Banco de Chile by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,151 shares of the bank’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 5,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCH has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Banco de Chile from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Banco de Chile Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BCH opened at $26.70 on Wednesday. Banco de Chile has a fifty-two week low of $21.19 and a fifty-two week high of $28.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $13.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.39.

Banco de Chile Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $2.1037 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. Banco de Chile’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.78%.

About Banco de Chile

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.