Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,093,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 266,217 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $135,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc increased its stake in Bank of America by 3,883.2% during the fourth quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 545,936 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $41.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $313.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $34.15 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.86.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BAC. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. HSBC upgraded shares of 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. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.45.

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.