Channing Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 161,190 Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 161,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,084,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 1,306.5% in the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $39.79 on Tuesday. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $34.15 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $302.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.53 and its 200-day moving average is $43.76.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.64.

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.