Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Bought by West Branch Capital LLC

West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,306 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up 0.8% of West Branch Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. West Branch Capital LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17,031,143 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,381,126,000 after buying an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Bank of America by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 37,819,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,747,658,000 after buying an additional 10,231,001 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Bank of America by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after buying an additional 9,980,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $44.61. 17,173,871 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,693,617. The stock has a market cap of $335.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.07 and a fifty-two week high of $48.08. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $41.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business 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 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BAC shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus reduced their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.