MetLife Investment Management LLC Purchases 10,537 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,766,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,537 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up 0.4% of MetLife Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $77,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc lifted 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 purchasing an additional 545,936 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its stake in Bank of America by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $37.44 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $33.07 and a 1 year high of $48.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.24. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.59.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.20.

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.