Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY Sells 5,869 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY trimmed its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,869 shares during the quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,876,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,031,143 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Bank of America by 10.6% during 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 period. Amundi grew its holdings in Bank of America by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 37,819,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,747,658,000 after buying an additional 10,231,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Bank of America by 17.2% in 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 buying an additional 9,980,859 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BAC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.40.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.85. 33,529,657 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,882,639. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $352.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.30. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.07 and a 52 week high of $48.08.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

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.