Sentry Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Sentry Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 31.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,094 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for approximately 0.6% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. UBS Group upped their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.50.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.2%

BAC stock opened at $44.04 on Tuesday. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $33.07 and a one year high of $48.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio 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.