Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Sold by Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ has reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 3.5%, owning approximately 1.1% of the company after selling 156,566 shares.
• Bank of America recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, increasing from the previous $0.26 and reflecting a yield of 2.2%.
• The company's share repurchase plan allows for the repurchase of up to $40 billion in outstanding shares, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ cut its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,294,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 156,566 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up 1.1% of Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ owned about 0.06% of Bank of America worth $179,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.76. 32,491,463 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,794,552. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $375.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.95. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $50.92.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during 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%. Bank of America's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. HSBC lowered shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.