Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Makes New $8.87 Million Investment in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 201,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,871,000. Bank of America comprises approximately 3.7% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 140,255,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,546,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,141 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $5,226,989,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Bank of America by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 59,613,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,620,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,806,927 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 46,887,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,060,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,671,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,929,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,886,769,000 after acquiring an additional 297,858 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $41.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.86. The company has a market cap of $313.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $34.15 and a 12-month high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The business 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 quarterly revenue 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 forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BAC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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 raised their target price on 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 assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.45.

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.