Hyman Charles D Increases Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Hyman Charles D boosted its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 251,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,333 shares during the period. Hyman Charles D’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $8,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased 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 buying an additional 20,362,295 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1,071.8% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 14,082,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $474,150,000 after buying an additional 12,880,492 shares during the period. Darsana Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $177,970,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Bank of America by 143.5% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,659,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,852,000 after purchasing an additional 6,281,690 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter worth $168,610,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.70. 32,799,608 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,510,223. The company has a market cap of $294.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $38.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.61 and a 200 day moving average of $33.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 33.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Bank of America from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Bank of America from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Bank of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $41.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.70.

About Bank of America

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.