Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Cuts Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. cut its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 41.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,750 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 43.0% during the third quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 11,873 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 237.6% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 36,089 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 140,255,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,546,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,141 shares during the period. Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $798,000. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its holdings in Bank of America by 125.8% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after buying an additional 33,983 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $46.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.59. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $34.03 and a 52-week high of $48.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $354.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on 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, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.