Arvest Investments Inc. Lowers Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Arvest Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,153 shares during the quarter. Arvest Investments Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avalon Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp increased its stake in Bank of America by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 8,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 19,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 6,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:BAC traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.04. The company had a trading volume of 43,276,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,781,158. The company has a market capitalization of $331.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.39. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $33.07 and a 52 week high of $48.08. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.69.

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.