ARGA Investment Management LP Decreases Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

ARGA Investment Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 343,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 33,116 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for about 0.5% of ARGA Investment Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. ARGA Investment Management LP's holdings in Bank of America were worth $14,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BAC. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 10.1% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,589,000 after buying an additional 3,495 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 37.2% during the first quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,714,000 after purchasing an additional 17,619 shares in the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management raised its position in Bank of America by 27.8% during the first quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.9% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 55,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.4% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 44,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,865,000 after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BAC. UBS Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.89.

Bank of America Stock Down 1.1%

BAC traded down $0.53 on Friday, reaching $46.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,517,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,255,398. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $349.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.54. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $49.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.56% and a return on equity of 10.25%. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.