Relative Value Partners Group LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Relative Value Partners Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 19.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,457 shares during the quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 108,111.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 193,168,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,397,725,000 after acquiring an additional 192,989,515 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 127,177,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,212,128,000 after acquiring an additional 23,532,190 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 123,636,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,087,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327,840 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,436,543,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 39,422,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,127,497,000 after purchasing an additional 699,040 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $32.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. HSBC assumed coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $41.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Bank of America from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 75,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total transaction of $2,364,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 185,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,836,455.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total transaction of $2,364,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 185,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,836,455.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Dean C. Athanasia sold 77,806 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.48, for a total transaction of $2,449,332.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 353,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,143,007.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $28.36 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $26.32 and a 1-year high of $38.60. The stock has a market cap of $225.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. Bank of America had a net margin of 19.97% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $25.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 27.59%.

Bank of America Company 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. Its Consumer Banking segment offers traditional and money market savings accounts, certificates of deposit and IRAs, noninterest-and interest-bearing checking accounts, and investment accounts and products; and credit and debit cards, residential mortgages, and home equity loans, as well as direct and indirect loans, such as automotive, recreational vehicle, and consumer personal loans.