Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Stake Lessened by Exeter Financial LLC

Exeter Financial LLC lessened its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 68,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,872 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises about 1.4% of Exeter Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 852 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Bank of America from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.50.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of BAC stock opened at $45.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $345.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $31.27 and a 1 year high of $48.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.82%.

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.