Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Sold by Tweedy Browne Co LLC

Key Points

• Tweedy Browne Co LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 1.9%, now holding approximately 385,707 shares valued at $18.25 million, making it the 15th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Bank of America shares, with TD Cowen raising it to $61.00 and Seaport Global Securities upgrading it to $66.00, reflecting strong market confidence in the company's performance.
• Bank of America has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, and the company has authorized a $40 billion share repurchase plan, indicating confidence in its financial health.

Tweedy Browne Co LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 385,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,384 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up approximately 1.7% of Tweedy Browne Co LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Tweedy Browne Co LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $18,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,007,718,000 after purchasing an additional 14,960,086 shares during the period. Unisphere Establishment grew its position in Bank of America by 1,642.5% in the first quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,195,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $175,057,000 after acquiring an additional 3,954,250 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the second quarter valued at about $164,623,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $152,098,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 62.9% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 8,904,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $421,564,000 after buying an additional 3,438,876 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday. Seaport Global Securities increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $50.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $52.88. The company has a market capitalization of $373.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.33. The firm's 50 day moving average is $50.00 and its 200-day moving average is $45.73.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $28.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.75%.

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.