Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,803 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 338,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,803 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up about 1.7% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $14,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Bank of America by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,940,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,168,000 after buying an additional 173,021 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $60,679,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,028,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,150,000 after buying an additional 10,377 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 7.8% during the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,061,000 after purchasing an additional 50,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in Bank of America by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,458,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,006,000 after purchasing an additional 38,258 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.69.

Bank of America Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of BAC opened at $44.04 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $33.07 and a 52-week high of $48.08. The company has a market capitalization of $331.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.42. 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 (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.95%.

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.