First National Trust Co Reduces Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

First National Trust Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 199,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,291 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $6,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BAC. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its stake in Bank of America by 98.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 1,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 192.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Private Ocean LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.25. 34,082,662 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,339,492. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $291.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.08. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $38.49.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its 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 business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Bank of America from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.70.

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.