Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Hoey Investments Inc.

Hoey Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 139,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,609 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up approximately 1.1% of Hoey Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Hoey Investments Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors raised 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 acquiring an additional 17,031,143 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 37,819,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,747,658,000 after purchasing an additional 10,231,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Cowen initiated coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Cfra Research increased their price objective on Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.69.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.4%

BAC traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $44.22. 27,438,626 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,709,402. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.07 and a fifty-two week high of $48.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $333.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $41.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.34.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date 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.