Cape Investment Advisory Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 284 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Bank of America by 31,021.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 10,207,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,049,000 after acquiring an additional 10,175,100 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,776,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $561,513,000 after purchasing an additional 5,733,810 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 130.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,692,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,976,000 after purchasing an additional 5,493,817 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 193.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 7,608,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,898,000 after buying an additional 5,015,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $174,858,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of BAC opened at $46.19 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $34.03 and a 52-week high of $48.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.59. The company has a market capitalization of $354.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.33.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI decreased 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, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently 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.