Bank of America Corp DE Sells 157,317 Shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its position in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 474,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 157,317 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.24% of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) worth $13,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOMB. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on HOMB shares. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kevin Hester sold 7,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.67, for a total transaction of $204,359.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 124,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,581,227.04. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer C. Floyd sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.45, for a total value of $68,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $118,062.45. This trade represents a 36.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Trading Up 2.5%

HOMB stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.77. 745,453 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,013,998. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.79. Home Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.42 and a 52-week high of $32.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock's fifty day moving average is $27.63 and its 200-day moving average is $28.99.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $260.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.20 million. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 27.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Home Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This is a boost from Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)'s payout ratio is 38.10%.

About Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)

Home Bancshares, Inc (Conway, AR) operates as the bank holding company for Centennial Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, and related financial services to businesses, real estate developers and investors, individuals, and municipalities. Its deposit products include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.