Access Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Access Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 210,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for about 2.7% of Access Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Access Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $9,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE BAC opened at $44.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $33.37 and a twelve month high of $48.08. The company has a market cap of $343.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.75 and its 200 day moving average is $43.37.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.