Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Sells 13,946 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 44.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,946 shares during the period. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $39.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.27 and its 200 day moving average is $43.70. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $34.15 and a 52 week high of $48.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on BAC shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Baird R W upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.64.

About Bank of America

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.