Utah Retirement Systems Sells 18,600 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Utah Retirement Systems trimmed its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,104,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,600 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises about 0.5% of Utah Retirement Systems' holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Utah Retirement Systems' holdings in Bank of America were worth $48,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Bank of America by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,415,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $611,692,000 after acquiring an additional 569,385 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth $306,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at about $645,000. Finally, Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at about $488,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Trading Up 2.3 %

BAC stock traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 41,601,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,256,999. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $33.07 and a 1 year high of $48.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.52. 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 (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BAC. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, HSBC raised Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.25.

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.