Strategic Planning Group LLC Acquires 303 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Strategic Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BAC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Bank of America by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,876,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,031,143 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Bank of America by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 37.1% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.4%

BAC opened at $44.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $336.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. 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 twelve month low of $33.07 and a twelve month high of $48.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.52.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 30.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BAC. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.50.

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.