Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Down 1.4% - Here's Why

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)'s share price fell 1.4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $44.03 and last traded at $44.13. 11,604,258 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 39,402,321 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BAC. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Baird R W raised Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cfra Research increased their target price on shares of Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Bank of America Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.84 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. The company has a market capitalization of $333.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc raised its position in Bank of America by 3,883.2% in the fourth quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

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.

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