Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Down 0.2%

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $36.81 and last traded at $36.86. 6,642,834 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 40,604,660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Bank of America from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $39.50 to $40.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.70.

Bank of America Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $290.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.98.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $25.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 33.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 55,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 4,187 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 234.5% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 27,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 19,179 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 228.3% in the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 46,950 shares during the period. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.