Aberdeen Group plc Has $229 Million Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Bank of America by 7.1% during the first quarter, selling 421,941 shares and leaving it with approximately 5.54 million shares valued at $229 million.
• Research analysts have mixed sentiments on Bank of America, with one downgrade to "sell" and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" along with an average price target of $50.13.
• The company recently announced a dividend increase to $0.28 per share and authorized a stock buyback plan of up to $40 billion, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Aberdeen Group plc cut its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,542,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 421,941 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of Bank of America worth $229,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BAC. HSBC cut shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.91. The company had a trading volume of 26,258,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,527,488. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $49.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $347.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.