Ethic Inc. Purchases 81,541 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 121.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 81,541 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $6,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Bank of America by 23.9% during 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 boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11,691,451 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Bank of America by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 37,819,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,747,658,000 after buying an additional 10,231,001 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Bank of America by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after purchasing 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 Stock Performance

Bank of America stock traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $43.35. 44,848,711 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,371,453. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $33.07 and a 52 week high of $48.08. The firm has a market cap of $326.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $39.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their price target 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, April 16th. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.25.

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.