New England Professional Planning Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

New England Professional Planning Group Inc. lowered its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 444 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for 0.2% of New England Professional Planning Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. New England Professional Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Bank of America in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 152.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 1,306.5% in the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $44.80 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $33.37 and a 52 week high of $48.08. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $45.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $343.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.