Viawealth LLC Reduces Stock Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Viawealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 56,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,260 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up approximately 1.5% of Viawealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Bank of America by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 283,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,475,000 after purchasing an additional 14,690 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Bank of America by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,615,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,938,000 after purchasing an additional 248,538 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $576,000. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $8,900,000. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its position in Bank of America by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 1,450,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,736,000 after purchasing an additional 245,166 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $42.24 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $44.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $34.15 and a one year high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.