Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) traded up 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $43.72 and last traded at $43.46. 5,734,628 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 35,739,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. HSBC raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.45.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $326.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.72 and its 200 day moving average is $43.87.

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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 2.42%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its stake in Bank of America by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.