Asio Capital LLC Decreases Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Asio Capital LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America by 21.5% in the second quarter, owning 109,398 shares valued at approximately $5.18 million after the reduction.
• Bank of America recently announced a $40 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, raising the annual dividend to $1.12, representing a 2.1% yield for investors.

Asio Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 29,905 shares during the period. Asio Capital LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 94.7% during the 2nd quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 14,691 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 7,144 shares during the last quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 19,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares during the last quarter. Nicholson Meyer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth $216,000. Smith Anglin Financial LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 13,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 7,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $52.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $52.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.05. The firm has a market cap of $387.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.34.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related 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 value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BAC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.82.

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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