Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Stock Position Lowered by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP lessened its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,015,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200,802 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises about 2.5% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $220,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 3,883.2% during the fourth quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 545,936 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% during 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 during the period. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $40.97 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $311.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $34.15 and a 52 week high of $48.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.71.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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. UBS Group raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.64.

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.