Bank of America Corp DE Sells 314,106 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 66.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,143 shares of the company's stock after selling 314,106 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.30% of Upbound Group worth $4,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 42.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,116,000 after purchasing an additional 94,333 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Upbound Group in the 4th quarter worth about $3,922,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Upbound Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,781,075 shares of the company's stock worth $197,804,000 after acquiring an additional 113,212 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Upbound Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 138,447 shares of the company's stock worth $4,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,555 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Upbound Group by 240.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663 shares in the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UPBD shares. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,694 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.89 per share, for a total transaction of $33,693.66. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 88,074 shares in the company, valued at $1,751,791.86. This trade represents a 1.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam bought 11,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 34,924 shares of company stock worth $846,711. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Upbound Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of UPBD traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.05. 607,369 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,807. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.69 and a 12-month high of $38.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.14.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 35.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group's payout ratio is presently 73.24%.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc leases household durable goods to customers on a lease-to-own basis in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. It operates through four segments: Rent-A-Center, Acima, Mexico, and Franchising. The company's brands, such as Rent-A-Center and Acima that facilitate consumer transactions across a range of store-based and virtual channels.