Seizert Capital Partners LLC Buys 9,199 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 956,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,199 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for approximately 1.8% of Seizert Capital Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Seizert Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $39,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BAC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,289,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,243,000,000 after buying an additional 2,033,229 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Bank of America by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,876,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,031,143 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Bank of America by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,985,785,000 after acquiring an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,521,218,000 after acquiring an additional 803,570 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock traded down $1.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $45.65. 52,302,792 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,048,586. The stock has a market capitalization of $343.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.81. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $49.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

About Bank of America

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.