Sabal Trust CO Grows Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Sabal Trust CO grew its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1,890.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 554,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 526,245 shares during the period. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $23,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avalon Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of America by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 19,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Hayek Kallen Investment Management raised its position in Bank of America by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 12,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $46.85 on Thursday. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.07 and a 1-year high of $48.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.33. The firm has a market cap of $352.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.56%. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Argus reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.40.

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.