China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 36.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,286 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 3.2% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 13,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 6.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,375,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,569,000 after purchasing an additional 78,376 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.0% in the third quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 23,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. grew its holdings in Bank of America by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 16,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 111,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,418,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $46.23. 36,480,730 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,949,066. The firm has a market cap of $354.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.35 and a fifty-two week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during 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%. Bank of America's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup raised Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.58.

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.