Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 393,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $17,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Bank of America by 525.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 1,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $45,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $47.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.92. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $363.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $32.35 and a 52 week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted 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. The business 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 was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BAC. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.