Viking Fund Management LLC Boosts Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up about 1.5% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $7,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 44,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 11,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 59,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 25,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AHL Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Of America Corp /De/ Bank acquired 5,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.56 per share, with a total value of $57,002.88. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 5,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,002.88. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.7 %

BAC stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.11. The stock had a trading volume of 33,662,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,197,430. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.25 and a 200 day moving average of $31.20. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $37.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Bank of America from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Finally, Odeon Capital Group cut Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.90 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.65.

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.