Graham Capital Management L.P. Lowers Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Graham Capital Management L.P. lessened its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 68.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 137,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 303,830 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $6,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc grew its position in 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 545,936 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. UBS Group boosted their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.25.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.6 %

BAC opened at $41.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.48. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $33.07 and a twelve month high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

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.