Round Hill Asset Management Cuts Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Round Hill Asset Management lowered its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,728 shares during the quarter. Round Hill Asset Management’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,415,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $611,692,000 after acquiring an additional 569,385 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at about $306,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 6.5% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 216,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,581,000 after purchasing an additional 13,292 shares in the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,282,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 5,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 7.7 %

Bank of America stock opened at $34.37 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.94. 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 firm has a market cap of $261.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $32.70 and a 52 week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.31.

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. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.