Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,857,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 285,117 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Bank of America worth $696,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,751,000. Leo Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 12,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 13,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Citrine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $321,000. Finally, Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 99,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $47.74 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.85. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $32.35 and a 12 month high of $48.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $366.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.67 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BAC. UBS Group raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.58.

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.