First Financial Bank Trust Division Reduces Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

First Financial Bank Trust Division trimmed its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 193,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,069 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $10,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 246.5% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the second quarter worth about $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% in the second quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 48.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $55.14 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $402.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.53. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $55.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Seaport Global Securities raised their price target on Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Dbs Bank raised Bank of America to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Bank of America from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Phillip Securities lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.86.

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.