Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 45,797 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,314,577 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 45,797 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up about 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.05% of Bank of America worth $145,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in Bank of America by 97.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,290,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,130,538,000 after purchasing an additional 20,362,295 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Bank of America by 1,071.8% during the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 14,082,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $474,150,000 after purchasing an additional 12,880,492 shares in the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $177,970,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Bank of America by 143.5% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,659,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $291,852,000 after purchasing an additional 6,281,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $168,610,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on BAC shares. HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Bank of America from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Bank of America from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Bank of America from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.53.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.2 %

Bank of America stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.83. 28,668,680 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,953,860. The company's fifty day moving average price is $36.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.80. The company has a market cap of $298.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $38.49.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.22%.

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.