Bank of America Corporation $BAC Position Lessened by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Easterly Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 0.9%, now owning 624,898 shares valued at approximately $29.57 million, making it their second largest position.
• Bank of America reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.06, exceeding expectations by $0.13, and marked a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.8%.
• The company recently authorized a $40 billion stock buyback program indicating confidence in its stock value, alongside a raised quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share.

Easterly Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 624,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,612 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises about 2.1% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $29,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Bank of America by 45.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 1,642.5% during the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,195,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $175,057,000 after purchasing an additional 3,954,250 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $164,623,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $152,098,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Bank of America by 62.9% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 8,904,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $421,564,000 after buying an additional 3,438,876 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 3.6%

NYSE BAC opened at $50.38 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $50.00 and its 200 day moving average is $45.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $373.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $52.88.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $28.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The business's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.75%.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Baird R W downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Bank of America from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.18.

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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