Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by WealthShield Partners LLC

WealthShield Partners LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,183 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised 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 valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 1,306.5% during the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.58.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC stock opened at $44.48 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.46. 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 capitalization of $341.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $33.53 and a 52-week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 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.