Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Bought by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Key Points

• Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its Bank of America stake by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 14,998 shares and bringing its total holdings to 134,934 shares worth about $7.4 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Bank of America, with 22 Buy ratings and 5 Hold ratings; the consensus view is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $61.06.
• Bank of America posted strong recent earnings, reporting $1.11 EPS on $30.27 billion in revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, payable June 26.

Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,998 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $7,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 4,629,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $254,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603,080 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,008,000 after buying an additional 20,591 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $482,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 26.6% in the third quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 198,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,262,000 after acquiring an additional 41,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its position in Bank of America by 11.2% during the third quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 677,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,974,000 after purchasing an additional 68,093 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Autonomous Res lowered their price target on Bank of America from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Bank of America from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 94,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total transaction of $4,412,360.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 170,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,988,436.96. The trade was a 35.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total value of $2,491,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 227,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,357,614.86. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 354,588 shares of company stock valued at $17,814,296. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $50.85 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.36 and a 52 week high of $57.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $360.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50-day moving average price is $51.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The company had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 EPS 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 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.72%.

Trending Headlines about Bank of America

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Brian Moynihan said Bank of America expects second-quarter trading revenue to rise about 15% year over year, pointing to continued strength in markets activity and a potential 17th straight quarter of trading growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also signaled solid Q2 support from investment banking and wealth-management fees, which could help offset pressure in other areas and support earnings momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Keynova Group ranked Bank of America among the top U.S. credit card issuers for online experience, reinforcing its strong digital banking franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said its Community Homeownership Commitment has delivered more than $15 billion in affordable home loans and grants, highlighting continued consumer lending and community-banking activity. Article Title

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.

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