Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 12,961 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 262,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,961 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $11,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% during the 4th 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 bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $47.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $363.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $32.35 and a 12 month high of $48.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.92.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid 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 2.19%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BAC. Barclays raised 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price target 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. Citigroup upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.58.

Bank of America Company 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.