Beta Wealth Group Inc. Acquires 996 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Beta Wealth Group Inc. increased its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Beta Wealth Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc raised its stake in Bank of America by 3,883.2% during the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 545,936 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $46.98 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.12. The company has a market capitalization of $360.47 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 52-week low of $32.49 and a 52-week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on BAC. 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 note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.