Financial Advocates Investment Management Grows Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.3 %

Bank of America stock opened at $47.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.85. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $32.35 and a 1 year high of $48.08. The stock has a market cap of $366.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued 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 2.18%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BAC. Barclays increased their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.58.

Bank of America Company 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.