Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Sold by Long Focus Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Long Focus Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America by 35.0%, selling 50,000 shares and leaving them with 93,000 shares valued at approximately $3.88 million.
• Bank of America recently announced a $40 billion share buyback program, indicating the company's belief that its stock is undervalued.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, reflecting a 2.2% dividend yield.

Long Focus Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 35.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 50,000 shares during the period. Long Focus Capital Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter worth about $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE BAC traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $50.36. 49,891,357 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,927,352. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $50.92. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $47.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.96. The company has a market capitalization of $373.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Bank of America's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.13.

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.