Ally Financial Inc. Makes New $2.02 Million Investment in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 46,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,226,989,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 37,819,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,747,658,000 after purchasing an additional 10,231,001 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 71,357.5% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 8,632,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,411,000 after purchasing an additional 8,620,699 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,776,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $561,513,000 after purchasing an additional 5,733,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 130.9% during the 4th 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. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $37.35 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $283.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.24. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $33.07 and a 12 month high of $48.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.65 and its 200 day moving average is $43.62.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.83 billion. Research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BAC. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Baird R W raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.20.

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.