Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,648,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 640,462 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up approximately 0.3% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.42% of Bank of America worth $1,581,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Permanent Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth $649,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 54.6% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,008,000 after acquiring an additional 20,591 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Bank of America by 15.9% during the third quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 629,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,482,000 after purchasing an additional 86,290 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 21.8% in the third quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 73,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,779,000 after purchasing an additional 13,119 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $482,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC increased their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore set a $59.00 target price on Bank of America in a report on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.30.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:BAC opened at $49.97 on Wednesday. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $57.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.52. The company has a market capitalization of $358.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.28.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.24%.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.