Martin & Co. Inc. TN Trims Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Martin & Co. Inc. TN trimmed its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,027 shares during the period. Martin & Co. Inc. TN’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Accent Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% during the third quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 11,873 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 237.6% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 36,089 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 140,255,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,546,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,141 shares in the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $798,000. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 125.8% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after purchasing an additional 33,983 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $46.98 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $32.49 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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, Oppenheimer raised their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.