Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Up 1.8% - Here's Why

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)'s stock price shot up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $41.08 and last traded at $40.89. 9,867,693 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 44,905,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus cut their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.25.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.52. 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 $312.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. Equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 2,033,229 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 10.6% in 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 buying an additional 11,691,451 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Bank of America by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,876,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,031,143 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised 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 worth $2,985,785,000 after acquiring an additional 9,980,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

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.