Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Position Lessened by Bessemer Securities LLC

Bessemer Securities LLC reduced its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 41.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 74,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 52,400 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up approximately 1.4% of Bessemer Securities LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Bessemer Securities LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 39,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Horizon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 7.9% in the second quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 4,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BHK Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.4% during the second quarter. BHK Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.06% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.4 %

Bank of America stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $29.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,608,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,786,199. The company has a market cap of $236.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $24.96 and a 52-week high of $37.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.42 and its 200 day moving average is $28.59.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $25.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.13 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 18.69% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Bank of America from $31.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $35.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.54.

Bank of America 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. Its Consumer Banking segment offers traditional and money market savings accounts, certificates of deposit and IRAs, noninterest-and interest-bearing checking accounts, and investment accounts and products; and credit and debit cards, residential mortgages, and home equity loans, as well as direct and indirect loans, such as automotive, recreational vehicle, and consumer personal loans.