Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Stake Reduced by Ramirez Asset Management Inc.

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,166 shares during the quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Bank of America by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,797,000 after purchasing an additional 226,246 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 139,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,110,000 after purchasing an additional 13,214 shares in the last quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 13,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 19,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.03.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $48.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $363.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $49.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.74.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Company 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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