United Asset Strategies Inc. Purchases 234,172 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 251.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 327,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 234,172 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for about 1.2% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $11,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its stake in Bank of America by 98.1% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 1,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 192.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of Bank of America stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $34.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 46,665,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,459,594. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $38.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.48 and a 200 day moving average of $32.14. The company has a market capitalization of $273.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.70 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 15.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and set a $39.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Odeon Capital Group downgraded Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.90 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Bank of America from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.29.

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.