LS Investment Advisors LLC Has $11.50 Million Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

LS Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 2.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 275,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,159 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises 1.8% of LS Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $11,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BAC. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc grew its holdings in Bank of America by 3,883.2% during the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 545,936 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of BAC stock opened at $44.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.59 and its 200-day moving average is $43.52. The stock has a market cap of $334.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $33.07 and a 52-week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 30.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on BAC. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.50.

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.