Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Cottage Street Advisors LLC

Cottage Street Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,721 shares during the period. Cottage Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE BAC opened at $43.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. 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 $329.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.72 and a 200-day moving average of $43.87.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Baird R W raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.45.

Bank of America Company 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.