Marietta Investment Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,307 shares during the quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Umpqua Bank grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 73,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $183,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 632,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,806,000 after acquiring an additional 194,922 shares during the period. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 9,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $243,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $42.47 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.81 and a 200-day moving average of $43.77. 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 52-week low of $34.15 and a 52-week high of $48.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. Oppenheimer increased their price target 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. Baird R W upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.64.

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.