Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Howard Financial Services LTD.

Howard Financial Services LTD. reduced its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 12.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 994 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 431.0% during the 4th quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.3 %

BAC stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.77. The stock had a trading volume of 50,630,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,955,773. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $40.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.78 and a 200 day moving average of $35.97.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 33.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Bank of America from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Bank of America from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.79.

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.