Versant Capital Management Inc Acquires 5,807 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 46.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,807 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,289,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,243,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,229 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position 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 buying an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 17,031,143 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after buying an additional 9,980,859 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.50.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $44.26 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $33.07 and a 52 week high of $48.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $333.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.57. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. Analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.95%.

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.