AIA Group Ltd Grows Position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 21.7%, acquiring a total of 351,752 shares valued at approximately $14.68 million by the end of the first quarter.
• Insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock, decreasing his ownership by 39.91%, while the stock currently has a moderate buy rating with an average price target of $50.13.
• Bank of America announced a new stock repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to $40 billion in outstanding shares and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%.

AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 21.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 351,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 62,784 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Bank of America were worth $14,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,876,853,000 after buying an additional 17,031,143 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after buying an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,521,218,000 after buying an additional 803,570 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,007,718,000 after buying an additional 14,960,086 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on BAC shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. HSBC downgraded Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Cfra Research raised their price target on Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $46.03 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $49.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $46.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.41%.

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.

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