Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Acquired by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 120,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,600 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up about 1.4% of Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,042,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,441,000 after purchasing an additional 50,849 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $311,000. Wallington Asset Management LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 263,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,452,000 after buying an additional 28,160 shares during the period. McAdam LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 3,550.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,547,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,804,560,000 after buying an additional 4,423,215 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.58.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC stock opened at $45.31 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.77 and its 200-day moving average is $43.27. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $347.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $33.17 and a 52 week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

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.