Generali Investments Management Co LLC Takes Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 99,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,389,000. Bank of America makes up approximately 1.1% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA raised its stake in Bank of America by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC upgraded 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. Barclays upped their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.64.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $41.61 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $34.15 and a twelve month high of $48.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.02 and its 200-day moving average is $43.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $316.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

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.