Tufton Capital Management Sells 2,870 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Tufton Capital Management decreased its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 258,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,870 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up 1.8% of Tufton Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $8,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 55,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 4,187 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 354.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 119,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,278,000 after acquiring an additional 93,375 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% during the third quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 228.3% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 46,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $673,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC traded up $0.68 on Thursday, hitting $35.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,566,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,152,336. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $38.35. The firm has a market cap of $283.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.39.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $25.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 33.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BAC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.29.

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.