Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 72,654 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lessened its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 366,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 72,654 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $16,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of BAC stock opened at $47.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $363.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $32.35 and a 1 year 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.92.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.58.

Bank of America 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.