NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 477,618 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC has reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 25.1%, now holding approximately $59.5 million worth of shares, making Bank of America its fifth largest position.
• Bank of America reported earnings of $0.89 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.03, with revenue increasing 4.3% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a dividend increase to $0.28 per share, which represents a yield of 2.2%, and a stock repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of up to $40 billion in shares.

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 25.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,426,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 477,618 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises approximately 2.0% of NFJ Investment Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $59,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $263,449,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,981,816,000 after purchasing an additional 5,092,504 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $217,979,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4,414.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,654,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $194,212,000 after purchasing an additional 4,550,930 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. HSBC lowered Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Oppenheimer upped 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. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.39.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $49.50. 47,640,315 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,954,789. The stock has a market cap of $366.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.95 and a 200-day moving average of $44.07. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $50.92.

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 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America 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 sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.