Westover Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 19,979 Shares of BB&T Corporation (BBT)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT) by 45.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,979 shares during the period. BB&T Corporation comprises about 1.9% of Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in BB&T Corporation were worth $2,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BBT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BB&T Corporation by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,194,703 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,422,504,000 after buying an additional 1,656,297 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of BB&T Corporation by 2,875.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 47,331,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,115,732,000 after buying an additional 45,740,906 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BB&T Corporation by 2.6% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 15,618,624 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $698,152,000 after buying an additional 403,087 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of BB&T Corporation by 0.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,766,336 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $570,655,000 after buying an additional 43,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of BB&T Corporation by 6.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,683,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $388,144,000 after buying an additional 489,519 shares during the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of BB&T Corporation (NYSE BBT) opened at 46.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.34 and a 200 day moving average of $45.09. The stock has a market cap of $37.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09 and a beta of 1.06. BB&T Corporation has a 52 week low of $36.19 and a 52 week high of $49.88.

BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.77. BB&T Corporation had a net margin of 19.57% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that BB&T Corporation will post $2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BB&T Corporation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.88 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

BBT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BidaskClub raised shares of BB&T Corporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 10th. FBR & Co reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BB&T Corporation in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of BB&T Corporation in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Hilliard Lyons raised shares of BB&T Corporation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of BB&T Corporation in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.21.

BB&T Corporation Company Profile

BB&T Corporation is a financial holding company. The Company conducts its business operations primarily through its bank subsidiary, Branch Banking and Trust Company (Branch Bank), and other nonbank subsidiaries. Its segments include Community Banking, Residential Mortgage Banking, Dealer Financial Services, Specialized Lending, Insurance Holdings and Financial Services.