Equitable Trust Co. Decreases Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Equitable Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 286,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,193 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $12,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 152.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $47.43 on Monday. 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 $363.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.77 and a 200-day moving average of $42.92. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $32.35 and a 52-week high of $48.08.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BAC. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.58.

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.