Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,093,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 266,217 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $135,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $5,226,989,000. Amundi grew its stake in Bank of America by 37.1% during 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 last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 31,021.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 10,207,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,049,000 after purchasing an additional 10,175,100 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,776,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $561,513,000 after purchasing an additional 5,733,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,692,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,976,000 after purchasing an additional 5,493,817 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $41.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.86. The stock has a market cap of $313.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $34.15 and a 12-month high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of 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. Oppenheimer raised their target price 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. HSBC upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.45.

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.