Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Should You Sell?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) fell 2.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $41.26 and last traded at $41.37. 7,651,860 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 35,691,200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.45.

Bank of America Trading Down 3.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.55 and its 200 day moving average is $43.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Bank of America by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,940,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,168,000 after buying an additional 173,021 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,679,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Bank of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,028,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,150,000 after acquiring an additional 10,377 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,458,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,006,000 after purchasing an additional 38,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Bank of America by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,929,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,886,769,000 after acquiring an additional 297,858 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.