First Financial Bankshares Inc Buys 245,166 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,450,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 245,166 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up 1.4% of First Financial Bankshares Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $63,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BAC. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its position in Bank of America by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $41.61 on Wednesday. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $34.15 and a 52-week high of $48.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.78. The firm has a market cap of $316.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Hsbc Global Res raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.64.

About Bank of America

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.