iA Global Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 283,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,690 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $12,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 3,883.2% in the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 152.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BAC. HSBC raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.64.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC stock opened at $42.24 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $34.15 and a one year high of $48.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

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.