Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance Acquires Shares of 9,130 Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance bought a new position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $401,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Bank of America during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $46.65 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.93. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $32.35 and a 12 month high of $48.08. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $357.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.58.

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.