Bank of America Corp DE Trims Stock Position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 67.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 175,032 shares of the company's stock after selling 361,856 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.15% of Bank OZK worth $7,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Bank OZK by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,102,657 shares of the company's stock worth $316,281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149,880 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Bank OZK by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,130,006 shares of the company's stock worth $183,909,000 after acquiring an additional 188,575 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Bank OZK by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,945,480 shares of the company's stock worth $131,162,000 after acquiring an additional 686,775 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bank OZK by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,811,354 shares of the company's stock worth $125,190,000 after acquiring an additional 314,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Bank OZK by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,176,997 shares of the company's stock worth $96,942,000 after acquiring an additional 238,810 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.61. The company had a trading volume of 65,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,427. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $42.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.82. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 0.85. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $35.71 and a 1 year high of $53.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $409.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.05 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OZK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.86.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits.