Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Sells 80,764 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lowered its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 779,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 80,764 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Bank of America were worth $32,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,289,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,243,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033,229 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 acquiring an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Bank of America by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,876,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,031,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $44.40. 34,089,373 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,758,421. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $33.07 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $334.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30. The business's fifty day moving average price is $41.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.36.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BAC shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.