Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 197,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,686 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $8,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 525.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 1,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC stock opened at $46.48 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $32.35 and a one year high of $48.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.33. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on BAC. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.58.

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.