First Financial Bank Trust Division Sells 1,900 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lowered its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 215,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $9,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Trust Co of the South raised its position in Bank of America by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 11,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at about $550,000. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Bush Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,670,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.8 %

BAC stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.29. 22,951,131 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,858,672. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.92. The stock has a market cap of $339.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $31.27 and a fifty-two week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Bank of America from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.92.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $369,952,591.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 1.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,965,139 shares of company stock valued at $901,748,440 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.