Sonata Capital Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Sonata Capital Group Inc. lessened its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Sonata Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 23,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 4,342 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 142,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,256,000 after buying an additional 23,367 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $401,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:BAC opened at $46.80 on Wednesday. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $32.35 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The firm has a market cap of $359.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.96.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.58.

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.