Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society decreased its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 398,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,375 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for about 1.3% of Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in Bank of America were worth $17,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whelan Financial acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,619,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in Bank of America by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 3,544,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $155,781,000 after buying an additional 692,054 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,644,000. Finally, Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,603,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Cfra Research upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Baird R W raised Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.50.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $44.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $336.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.07 and a fifty-two week high of $48.08. 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's 50 day moving average price is $40.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.59.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's 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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