The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price objective increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $46.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BAC. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of 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, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.69.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.8%

BAC stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.72. The company had a trading volume of 47,846,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,766,170. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $336.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.14 and a 200 day moving average of $43.46. Bank of America has a 12 month low of $33.07 and a 12 month high of $48.08.

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 the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,289,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,243,000,000 after buying an additional 2,033,229 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $3,876,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,031,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.