Planned Solutions Inc. Makes New $250,000 Investment in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.5% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 135,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Bank of America by 150.3% in the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 4.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 405,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,698,000 after acquiring an additional 16,319 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter valued at about $586,000. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter worth about $534,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:BAC opened at $37.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.26. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $37.85. The firm has a market cap of $298.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.38.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.70 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 15.42%. Bank of America’s revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Bank of America from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Odeon Capital Group lowered shares of Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.90 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.90.

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.