Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Acquired by Optas LLC

Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter worth $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 152.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Bank of America by 525.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 1,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $46.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $354.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.83 and a 200-day moving average of $42.77. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $32.35 and a 1 year high of $48.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. 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 2.25%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays raised 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.58.

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.