Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Stock Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 31,768,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 766,274 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up 0.3% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,396,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co increased its position in Bank of America by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $37.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $284.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.24. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $33.07 and a 12 month 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.59.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 30.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on BAC shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.20.

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. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.