Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Sold by Clarius Group LLC

Key Points

• Clarius Group LLC reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 6.4% in Q2, now owning 76,445 shares valued at $3.62 million after selling 5,270 shares.
• Bank of America reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89, exceeding estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.3%.
• The company announced a $40 billion stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in its undervalued stock, along with a raised quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share.

Clarius Group LLC lowered its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,270 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 121.0% during the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 33,963 shares during the period. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter worth about $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,714,000 after purchasing an additional 17,619 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 238,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,951,000 after purchasing an additional 150,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Bank of America by 2.3% during the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 1,124,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,936,000 after purchasing an additional 25,618 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.38.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $50.63 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $49.37 and its 200-day moving average is $45.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $374.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $52.88.

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

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 32.75%.

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.

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