Viking Fund Management LLC Purchases 30,000 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Viking Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up 1.5% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $7,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 108,111.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 193,168,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,397,725,000 after acquiring an additional 192,989,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $3,436,543,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,648,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,852,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397,469 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 97.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,290,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,130,538,000 after purchasing an additional 20,362,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,518,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,109,383,000 after purchasing an additional 746,756 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC traded up $0.25 on Tuesday, reaching $37.11. 33,662,004 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,197,430. The firm has a market cap of $292.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $37.61.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Bank of America from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised Bank of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.65.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, major shareholder Of America Corp /De/ Bank acquired 5,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.56 per share, for a total transaction of $57,002.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,002.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.