Rockland Trust Co. Sells 36,167 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Rockland Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 31.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,167 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at $66,759,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 43.4% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 6,226 shares in the last quarter. FMB Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter worth about $363,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 445,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,576,000 after buying an additional 47,036 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 16,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.69.

Bank of America Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:BAC traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,276,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,751,425. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $331.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $33.07 and a one year high of $48.08. The business's 50-day moving average is $41.50 and its 200-day moving average is $43.42.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend 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%.

Bank of America 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.