Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,028,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,377 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises approximately 0.5% of Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $89,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Bank of America by 4.9% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 2,806,927 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% in 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 buying an additional 1,671,610 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,929,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,886,769,000 after buying an additional 297,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 24,261,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,066,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,262 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $42.55 on Wednesday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $45.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $34.15 and a twelve month high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.