Ally Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 46,000 Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Ally Financial Inc. bought a new position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 46,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,022,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3,883.2% during the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its position in Bank of America by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.3 %

BAC traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.44. 47,052,978 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,127,145. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.24. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $33.07 and a one year high of $48.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on BAC shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.20.

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.