Ariel Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC significantly increased its stake in Bank of America by 409.6% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 839,929 shares valued at approximately $35 million.
• A number of research firms have upgraded their ratings for Bank of America, with several setting price targets around $53.00, contributing to an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Bank of America recently announced a dividend increase to $0.28 per share and approved a stock repurchase plan allowing up to $40 billion in share buybacks.

Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 409.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 839,929 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 675,109 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $35,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter worth about $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. HSBC lowered Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Stock Down 1.8%

Bank of America stock traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.69. The company had a trading volume of 40,059,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,778,700. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $50.92. The company has a market capitalization of $368.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $47.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.