Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) is Brandes Investment Partners LP’s 3rd Largest Position

Brandes Investment Partners LP lowered its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,015,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200,802 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for about 2.5% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.07% of Bank of America worth $220,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 68.2% during the 4th quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $40.97 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $34.15 and a 52 week high of $48.08. 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 market capitalization of $311.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.71.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Baird R W upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.64.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.