Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 6.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 426,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,972 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up approximately 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Bank of America were worth $20,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.1% during the second quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 5,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 48.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BAC shares. Daiwa Capital Markets upped their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.86.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $55.14 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $402.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 1.30. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $55.30.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 30.52%.

Bank of America 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.