Old West Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Old West Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 70.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 50,108 shares during the quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3,883.2% during the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 545,936 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 152.7% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 7.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $34.37 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.88. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $33.67 and a 12-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. The company has a market capitalization of $261.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.31.

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.