Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 118,930,358 Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 118,930,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,226,989,000. Bank of America makes up approximately 0.7% of Norges Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Norges Bank owned about 1.55% of Bank of America as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc grew its stake in Bank of America by 3,883.2% during the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% during 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. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $42.81 on Thursday. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $34.15 and a 52-week high of $48.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $325.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.86.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BAC. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.