Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Price Target Raised to $40.50 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $39.50 to $40.50 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Bank of America from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised Bank of America from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Bank of America from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Bank of America from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $38.70.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $36.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $291.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.39. Bank of America has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $38.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.98.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $3,734,407,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 360.9% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 37,290,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,255,514,000 after purchasing an additional 29,198,846 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 97.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,290,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,130,538,000 after purchasing an additional 20,362,295 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Bank of America by 1,071.8% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 14,082,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $474,150,000 after buying an additional 12,880,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Bank of America by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 104,030,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,502,720,000 after buying an additional 9,879,524 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of America

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.