Gleason Group Inc. Buys 6,318 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Gleason Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,318 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises approximately 0.8% of Gleason Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Gleason Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 70,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,279 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Bank of America by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 208,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,036,000 after acquiring an additional 14,337 shares during the last quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of America by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 46,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BAC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $39.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.15.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.92. The stock had a trading volume of 42,262,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,416,252. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $34.59 and its 200 day moving average is $31.35. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $38.00.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.70 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 11.38%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

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.