Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Boosts Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,040,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,693 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for about 0.9% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $45,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BAC. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3,883.2% in the fourth quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 545,936 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 152.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.64.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $39.79 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.76. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.15 and a fifty-two week high of $48.08. The firm has a market cap of $302.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Bank of America Company 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.