Baxter Bros Inc. Trims Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Baxter Bros Inc. lessened its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,783 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bay Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $506,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 47,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,089,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 765,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,647,000 after buying an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust grew its position in Bank of America by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 100,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,435,000 after acquiring an additional 6,314 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $43.09 on Tuesday. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $34.15 and a one year high of $48.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.77 and a 200 day moving average of $43.83. 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 company has a market capitalization of $327.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.45.

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.