Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Buys 40,090 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 129.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 40,090 shares during the quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Bank of America by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,940,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $173,168,000 after buying an additional 173,021 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,679,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,028,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,150,000 after buying an additional 10,377 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,061,000 after buying an additional 50,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,458,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $152,006,000 after acquiring an additional 38,258 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $47.51. 40,075,726 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,865,895. The firm's fifty day moving average is $42.91 and its 200-day moving average is $43.33. The stock has a market cap of $357.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.07 and a 52 week high of $48.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.56% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.83 billion. Research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BAC. Argus decreased 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.56.

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.