Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,668,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 188,631 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.21% of Bank of America worth $653,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in Bank of America by 23.9% during 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 buying an additional 17,031,143 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Bank of America by 10.6% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 37,819,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,747,658,000 after acquiring an additional 10,231,001 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,980,859 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BAC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.65.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:BAC opened at $47.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $354.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.30. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.07 and a one year high of $48.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.35.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.56%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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