Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 23,261 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,261 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 97.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,290,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,130,538,000 after acquiring an additional 20,362,295 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1,071.8% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 14,082,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $474,150,000 after purchasing an additional 12,880,492 shares in the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth $177,970,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 143.5% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,659,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,852,000 after purchasing an additional 6,281,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth $168,610,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.25. 34,082,662 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,339,492. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $24.96 and a 52-week high of $38.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $291.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.37.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. The company had revenue of $25.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley raised Bank of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Bank of America from $39.50 to $40.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Odeon Capital Group cut Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.90 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.70.

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.