MWA Asset Management Boosts Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

MWA Asset Management increased its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises approximately 1.3% of MWA Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Accent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 11,873 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Bank of America by 237.6% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 36,089 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 140,255,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,546,871,000 after buying an additional 1,700,141 shares during the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $798,000. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 125.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after buying an additional 33,983 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $47.43 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $32.35 and a 52-week high of $48.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.77 and a 200 day moving average of $42.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 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, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BAC. Citigroup upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.58.

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.