Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 3,250 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Bard Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 226,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,250 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises 1.2% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $9,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.07.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $45.61. 16,689,174 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,504,410. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $349.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $31.27 and a 12 month high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $369,952,591.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 1.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.