Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Boosts Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 30.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 610,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 141,740 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $26,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co raised its holdings in Bank of America by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.8% in the 4th 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

A number of research firms recently commented on BAC. Oppenheimer lifted 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 upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Baird R W upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.64.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $42.24 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.77. The company has a market cap of $321.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. 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 (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. 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 presently 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.