Jennison Associates LLC Sells 3,285,270 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,317,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,285,270 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $233,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 152.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 525.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 1,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Down 1.0 %

BAC stock opened at $46.25 on Monday. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $32.35 and a one year high of $48.08. The firm has a market cap of $354.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.58.

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.