Key Financial Inc Decreases Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Key Financial Inc reduced its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 730 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 1,306.5% during the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BAC. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Citigroup raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of 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, HSBC upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.58.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $46.98 on Tuesday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $45.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.12. The firm has a market cap of $360.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $32.49 and a 12-month high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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 was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

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.