Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,391,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 416,283 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of Bank of America worth $600,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position 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 valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position 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 valued at $37,797,000 after purchasing an additional 226,246 shares in the last quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 106,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,683,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.94. The company had a trading volume of 21,620,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,179,873. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $44.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.44. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.07 and a 52-week high of $49.31. The stock has a market cap of $368.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.28.

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.