Private Management Group Inc. Sells 3,000 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Private Management Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 28.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $261,000. Thrive Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Bank of America by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,365,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,792,000 after purchasing an additional 104,102 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 6,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 63,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,152,000 after buying an additional 4,749 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.92.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC traded down $0.97 during trading on Thursday, hitting $43.01. 48,221,320 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,787,590. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $336.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.83. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $24.96 and a 1 year high of $44.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

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.