Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Acquired by Czech National Bank

Key Points

• Czech National Bank increased its stake in Bank of America by 5.3%, holding a total of 1,601,720 shares worth approximately $75.8 million.
• Bank of America recently approved a $40 billion share repurchase plan, reflecting confidence in its valuation.
• The firm also announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, indicating a 2.2% yield for shareholders.

Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,601,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 80,875 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises 0.6% of Czech National Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Czech National Bank's holdings in Bank of America were worth $75,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,521,218,000 after purchasing an additional 803,570 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,981,816,000 after purchasing an additional 5,092,504 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 39,233,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,637,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 31,956,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,333,351,000 after purchasing an additional 188,638 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.2%

BAC traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.68. 31,606,032 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,613,528. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $51.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.36. The firm has a market cap of $375.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.34.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.61.

Bank of America 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.