UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,092,504 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,981,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,247,000 after acquiring an additional 61,347 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Whelan Financial acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,619,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its holdings in Bank of America by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 3,544,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,781,000 after purchasing an additional 692,054 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE BAC opened at $44.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $336.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.59. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $33.07 and a 12 month high of $48.08.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 2.32%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.95%.

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.