Banque Transatlantique SA Buys Shares of 45,000 Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 45,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,967,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA increased its stake in Bank of America by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 20,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co raised its stake in Bank of America by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,291 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.6 %

BAC traded down $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.86. 29,470,622 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,256,477. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.95 and a 200 day moving average of $43.52. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $33.07 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.83 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. Bank of America's payout ratio is 30.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BAC. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.25.

Bank of America 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.