Bank of America Corporation $BAC Stake Lowered by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH has reduced its stake in Bank of America by 32.4% during the first quarter, now holding 387,203 shares valued at approximately $16.16 million.
• Bank of America announced a new share repurchase program worth $40 billion and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, reflecting confidence in the company's stock value.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.89, surpassing estimates, and a revenue increase of 4.3% year-over-year, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.

Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 32.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 387,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 185,875 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Bank of America were worth $16,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Humankind Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 18,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 882 shares during the period. HMS Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 674.3% in the 1st quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 47,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,973,000 after buying an additional 41,168 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at $599,000. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 6.3% during the first quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 243,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,154,000 after acquiring an additional 14,360 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in Bank of America by 7.1% during the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 1,203,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,159,000 after acquiring an additional 79,495 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock traded down $0.1150 during trading on Thursday, hitting $48.2350. The stock had a trading volume of 28,706,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,895,712. The firm has a market cap of $357.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $49.31. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $46.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.84.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors 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 given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is 30.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

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.