Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 7,000 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Sarasin & Partners LLP lowered its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,000 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings in Bank of America were worth $960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $173,168,000 after purchasing an additional 173,021 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $60,679,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased 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 valued at $89,150,000 after acquiring an additional 10,377 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 7.8% during the first 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 lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $152,006,000 after acquiring an additional 38,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.04. The stock had a trading volume of 43,276,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,751,325. The business's 50 day moving average price is $41.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.42. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $33.07 and a 1 year high of $48.08. The company has a market cap of $331.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.69.

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.