Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Stake Trimmed by Inlet Private Wealth LLC

Inlet Private Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up 1.6% of Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Accent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% in the third quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 11,873 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in Bank of America by 237.6% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,035,000 after buying an additional 36,089 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 1.2% in 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. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Bank of America by 125.8% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,421,000 after buying an additional 33,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $798,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BAC. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.58.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $46.25 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $32.35 and a 1-year high of $48.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $354.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.67 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

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.