Virtus Advisers LLC Buys New Position in Credicorp Ltd. $BAP

Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 13,207 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,000. Credicorp comprises approximately 2.0% of Virtus Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BAP. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Credicorp by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,853 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Credicorp by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Credicorp by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,916,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its holdings in Credicorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 2,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Credicorp by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 394 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Credicorp Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BAP opened at $371.16 on Friday. Credicorp Ltd. has a 52 week low of $230.45 and a 52 week high of $413.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $385.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.94. The company has a market cap of $35.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Credicorp (NYSE:BAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The bank reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.31 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Credicorp had a net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 20.52%. Equities analysts predict that Credicorp Ltd. will post 29.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Credicorp news, CEO Diego Antonio Cavero sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.00, for a total value of $1,116,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,307 shares in the company, valued at $2,330,933. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 15.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAP has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Credicorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $415.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Credicorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. HSBC upgraded Credicorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $320.00 to $350.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on Credicorp from $412.00 to $473.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Credicorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $375.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $418.40.

Credicorp Profile

Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE: BAP) is a Lima-based financial services holding company that operates a diversified group of banking, insurance, and investment businesses. Established in the mid-1990s, Credicorp’s principal subsidiaries include Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP), Mibanco (microfinance), Credicorp Capital (investment banking and asset management) and Pacífico Seguros (insurance). The company serves retail, commercial and corporate clients and is one of the largest financial conglomerates in Peru.

Through Banco de Crédito del Perú and its retail network, Credicorp provides a full suite of banking products including deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgages, payment and transaction services, and digital banking solutions.