Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 44.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 632,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 194,922 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises approximately 0.5% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $27,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi lifted its position in Bank of America by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 37,819,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,747,658,000 after acquiring an additional 10,231,001 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake 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 worth $405,049,000 after purchasing an additional 10,175,100 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Bank of America by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,776,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $561,513,000 after acquiring an additional 5,733,810 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Bank of America by 130.9% during 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. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 193.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 7,608,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,898,000 after buying an additional 5,015,378 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Bank of America Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.31. 25,443,269 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,889,184. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $34.15 and a 52-week high of $48.08. The company's 50-day moving average is $44.77 and its 200-day moving average is $43.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. UBS Group upgraded Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.45.

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.