Gradient Investments LLC Buys 50,296 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 50,296 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $29,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4.6% in 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 during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $60,679,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,458,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $152,006,000 after buying an additional 38,258 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,929,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,886,769,000 after buying an additional 297,858 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.4%

BAC traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $44.68. 31,295,949 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,747,630. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $336.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $33.07 and a 52-week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The business 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. TD Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.50.

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.