Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 91,138 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,595,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 91,138 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $108,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc raised its stake in Bank of America by 3,883.2% in the fourth quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $44.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $338.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, 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 quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.07 and a fifty-two week high of $48.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.44.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on BAC. Baird R W upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.50.

About Bank of America

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.