Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for 1.3% of Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,415,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $611,692,000 after purchasing an additional 569,385 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the third quarter worth $606,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 18.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 10,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 14,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 4,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth $73,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BAC. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer increased 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. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.45.

Bank of America Stock Down 1.1 %

Bank of America stock opened at $42.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $325.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.86. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $34.15 and a twelve month high of $48.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

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.