Planned Solutions Inc. Acquires New Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 1.5% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 135,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,596,000 after buying an additional 2,013 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 150.3% during the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 405,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,698,000 after acquiring an additional 16,319 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $586,000. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter worth approximately $534,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $37.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $24.96 and a 1 year high of $37.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.26. The firm has a market cap of $298.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.38.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Bank of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Odeon Capital Group downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.90 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.90.

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.