Becker Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Becker Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 242,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,797 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $10,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,415,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $611,692,000 after purchasing an additional 569,385 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter worth $306,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at about $645,000. Finally, Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $488,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.08. 41,601,768 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,277,820. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $33.07 and a 1-year high of $48.08. The stock has a market cap of $312.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.52.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. On average, analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 30.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus lowered their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.