New York Life Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,080,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,235 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $36,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter worth $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 98.1% during the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 1,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 192.3% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Private Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.95. 32,253,037 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,025,305. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $38.49.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research raised Bank of America from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $39.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.70.

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.