AXS Investments LLC Decreases Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

AXS Investments LLC cut its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,020 shares during the quarter. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 26,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group grew its holdings in Bank of America by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 58,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Selective Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 17,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC traded up $0.53 on Friday, reaching $39.70. The company had a trading volume of 22,166,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,858,416. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.54 and a 200-day moving average of $34.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $310.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.37. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $39.84.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.23 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, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.70.

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.