DnB Asset Management AS Grows Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,318,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 287,118 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up 0.8% of DnB Asset Management AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. DnB Asset Management AS owned 0.06% of Bank of America worth $189,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 1,700,141 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,226,989,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,620,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,806,927 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 46,887,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,060,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 0.7% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 297,858 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $42.61 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.85. The company has a market cap of $323.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $34.15 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS 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 given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BAC shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.45.

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.