Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Sells 18,370 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. cut its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 670,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,370 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises about 1.4% of Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $29,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,289,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,243,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,229 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings 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 worth $3,876,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,031,143 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Bank of America by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 59,613,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,620,028,000 after buying an additional 2,806,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 46,887,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,060,703,000 after buying an additional 1,671,610 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 research firms have recently commented on BAC. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.43.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Bank of America stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.67. 32,686,998 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,117,966. The company has a market cap of $301.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.48 and a 200-day moving average of $43.55. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $33.07 and a 12 month high of $48.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio 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.