Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Bank of America by 17.1%, now holding 91,262 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million.
• Bank of America recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, alongside launching a $40 billion share buyback program.
• Bank of America reported earnings per share of $0.89 for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with substantial institutional ownership at 70.71% of the stock.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 17.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,262 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,775 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Bank of America by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,007,718,000 after purchasing an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $263,449,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 12.7% during 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 worth $1,981,816,000 after buying an additional 5,092,504 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,979,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 4,414.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,654,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $194,212,000 after acquiring an additional 4,550,930 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 36,272,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,925,078. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.10. The firm has a market cap of $372.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $50.92. 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 (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. Bank of America's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Baird R W downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.39.

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.