WealthShield Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

WealthShield Partners LLC lessened its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,183 shares during the quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 152.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1,306.5% in the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $44.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $33.53 and a 1-year high of $48.08. The stock has a market cap of $341.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.