Korea Investment CORP Sells 792,074 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Korea Investment CORP reduced its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,221,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 792,074 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises 0.6% of Korea Investment CORP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $273,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Aviso Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 26,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,967 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $1,775,000. Finally, Core Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BAC shares. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Bank of America from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.45.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $42.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $325.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.63 and its 200 day moving average is $43.86. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $34.15 and a 52 week 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid 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 yield of 2.43%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

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.