Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Purchased by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 251.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 327,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 234,172 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises about 1.2% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest 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 large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 150,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 9,946 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 30,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 10,994 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 80,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 2,676 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 19,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 28,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Down 3.5 %

NYSE:BAC traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.70. The stock had a trading volume of 46,665,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,459,594. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.14. The company has a market capitalization of $273.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.39. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $38.35. 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.70 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The firm’s revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $39.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Odeon Capital Group lowered shares of Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.90 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.