Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Stake Lifted by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 4,568.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,004,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 982,916 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises about 1.5% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $44,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Bank of America by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,876,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,031,143 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Bank of America by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Bank of America by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 37,819,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,747,658,000 after purchasing an additional 10,231,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Bank of America by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,985,785,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC opened at $41.85 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.49. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $33.07 and a 12-month high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BAC. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus decreased their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.25.

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.