Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Stake Raised by Sard Wealth Management Group LLC

Sard Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the quarter. Sard Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in Bank of America by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,876,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,031,143 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 37,819,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,747,658,000 after purchasing an additional 10,231,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after buying an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $45.01 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $339.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $33.07 and a 52-week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Baird R W upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Phillip Securities raised shares of Bank of America from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.50.

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.