Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Invests $220,000 in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 8.2% in the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 55,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 4,187 shares during the period. Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 354.5% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 119,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 93,375 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% in the third quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 228.3% in the fourth quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 46,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $673,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 3.4 %

BAC stock traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 56,273,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,086,852. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.68 and its 200-day moving average is $32.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $38.35. The company has a market cap of $291.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.39.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Bank of America from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley raised Bank of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.53.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.