Busey Bank Has $1.79 Million Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Busey Bank reduced its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,106 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 8,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.6% in the third quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 37,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% in the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 20,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 9,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BAC. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.58.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $46.74 on Thursday. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $32.35 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.70. 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 stock has a market cap of $358.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

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.