Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 44.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,829 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 25,143 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,797,000 after buying an additional 226,246 shares during the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 17,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 5,044 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $7,936,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 93,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,113,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $45.51 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.36 and a 200-day moving average of $43.28. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.07 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $342.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.30.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.56% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 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 27th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.29%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BAC. Argus lowered their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.69.

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.

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