Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 32.3%, now holding 13,929 shares worth approximately $659,000.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28, representing a yield of 2.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 32.75%.
• The company has initiated a $40 billion share repurchase plan, which indicates that the board believes its stock may be undervalued.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,929 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,652 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,007,718,000 after buying an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $217,979,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 4,414.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,654,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $194,212,000 after buying an additional 4,550,930 shares in the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1,642.5% during the first quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,195,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $175,057,000 after buying an additional 3,954,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter worth approximately $152,098,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC stock opened at $52.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $52.19. The stock's fifty day moving average is $48.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.45.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.61.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About Bank of America

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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