Asset Planning Inc Sells 19,942 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Asset Planning Inc significantly reduced its stake in Bank of America, selling 19,942 shares, which accounted for a 79.8% decrease in its position during the 2nd quarter.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Bank of America's stock, with Daiwa Capital Markets raising the price target to $58.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to a "sell" rating.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28, reflecting a 2.3% yield and underlining the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Asset Planning Inc lessened its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 79.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,043 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,942 shares during the quarter. Asset Planning Inc's holdings in Bank of America were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 259,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,288,000 after buying an additional 24,740 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its stake in Bank of America by 121.0% in the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,589,000 after buying an additional 33,963 shares during the period. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 6,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth about $998,000. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 17,619 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Daiwa Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.64.

Insider Activity

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

Bank of America Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $48.62 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $49.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.52. 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 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $52.88. The company has a market cap of $360.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication 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.

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