Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,431 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $7,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,940,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $173,168,000 after acquiring an additional 173,021 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,679,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Bank of America by 0.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 10,377 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $29,061,000 after acquiring an additional 50,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings 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 worth $152,006,000 after purchasing an additional 38,258 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cfra Research lifted their price objective on Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.50.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $45.01 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $40.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.46. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $33.07 and a 1-year high of $48.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $339.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

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.

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