World Equity Group Inc. Has $2.60 Million Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

World Equity Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 240 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% in the third quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 11,873 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 237.6% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 36,089 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 140,255,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,546,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,141 shares during the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $798,000. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in Bank of America by 125.8% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,421,000 after buying an additional 33,983 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $44.80 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 market capitalization of $343.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.75 and a 200-day moving average of $43.37. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $33.37 and a 1 year high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, HSBC raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.