Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 48.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 184,004 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises about 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Bank of America were worth $8,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,940,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $173,168,000 after acquiring an additional 173,021 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $60,679,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Bank of America by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,028,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,150,000 after purchasing an additional 10,377 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,061,000 after purchasing an additional 50,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,458,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $152,006,000 after purchasing an additional 38,258 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W raised Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Two research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.69.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE BAC opened at $45.51 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.07 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $342.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.30.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.56%. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's payout ratio is 30.95%.

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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