ARGA Investment Management LP Purchases 142,087 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 60.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 376,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 142,087 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises about 0.5% of ARGA Investment Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. ARGA Investment Management LP's holdings in Bank of America were worth $16,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BAC. Accent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,567,000 after buying an additional 11,873 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 237.6% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 36,089 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 140,255,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,546,871,000 after buying an additional 1,700,141 shares during the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $798,000. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in Bank of America by 125.8% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,421,000 after buying an additional 33,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.11. 27,584,162 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,366,367. The company has a market cap of $361.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $32.35 and a twelve month high of $48.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $45.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.82.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.58.

Bank of America 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.