Central Bank & Trust Co. Makes New Investment in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 5,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc increased its stake in Bank of America by 3,883.2% during the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 545,936 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:BAC opened at $45.01 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.46. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $33.07 and a 52 week high of $48.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $339.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.83 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Bank of America Company 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.