Altshuler Shaham Ltd Sells 4,726,340 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd reduced its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 99.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,726,340 shares during the quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 97.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,290,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,130,538,000 after acquiring an additional 20,362,295 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Bank of America by 1,071.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 12,880,492 shares in the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $177,970,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised 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 valued at $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 position in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $168,610,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $39.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Odeon Capital Group cut shares of Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.90 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Bank of America from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.70.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $38.29. The company had a trading volume of 26,851,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,358,504. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.34. The stock has a market cap of $299.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.37. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $38.49.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.