Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Down 1.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)'s share price fell 1.1% on Wednesday after Argus lowered their price target on the stock from $53.00 to $47.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as low as $37.42 and last traded at $37.59. 13,916,215 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 39,295,327 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.99.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. HSBC upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Bank of America by 23.9% in the fourth 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% during the fourth 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 period. Amundi boosted its position 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 increased its position in 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 buying an additional 9,980,859 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.24.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Bank of America's payout ratio is 30.95%.

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.