Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Kempner Capital Management Inc.

Kempner Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,757 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for approximately 3.2% of Kempner Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Kempner Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 31,021.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 10,207,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $405,049,000 after buying an additional 10,175,100 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,776,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $561,513,000 after purchasing an additional 5,733,810 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 130.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,692,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $425,976,000 after purchasing an additional 5,493,817 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 193.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 7,608,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $301,898,000 after purchasing an additional 5,015,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 3,550.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,547,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,804,560,000 after buying an additional 4,423,215 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.58.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.1 %

Bank of America stock opened at $46.68 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $45.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.73. The company has a market cap of $358.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $32.35 and a 1-year high of $48.08.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

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.

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