Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Purchases 1,616,091 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,620,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,616,091 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up 0.7% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $378,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co increased its holdings in Bank of America by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its stake in Bank of America by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Robert W. Baird raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.25.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $41.62 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.48. The company has a market cap of $313.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $33.07 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

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.