Blue Chip Partners LLC Has $22.14 Million Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 657,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,650 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for about 2.3% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $22,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 15,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. Sunesis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,169,000. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Index Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 31,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 8,571 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Bank of America from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.53.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $37.83. 28,668,680 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,953,860. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $36.13 and its 200-day moving average is $32.80. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $38.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $298.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.39.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $25.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 33.22%.

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.