Axa S.A. Cuts Stock Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Axa S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 932,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 197,923 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $40,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BAC. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA grew its holdings in Bank of America by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Hsbc Global Res raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.25.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.3 %

BAC opened at $41.08 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $33.07 and a 12 month high of $48.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $312.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

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.