Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC has reduced its shares in Bank of America Corporation by 72.3%, now holding 76,102 shares worth approximately $3.6 million after selling 198,301 shares.
• Bank of America announced a new share repurchase plan allowing them to buy back $40 billion of their stock, indicating the board's belief that the stock is currently undervalued.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, representing a 2.3% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 32.75%.

Vest Financial LLC decreased its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 72.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 198,301 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 3.5% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,576,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $311,211,000 after acquiring an additional 223,798 shares in the last quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.0% during the second quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 17,691 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $837,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.3% during the second quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 339,304 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,056,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 101,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,798,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.4% during the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 28,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,358,000 after buying an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

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.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $48.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $361.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $52.88.

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. Research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 2.3%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Seaport Global Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Twenty-one 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.64.

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.

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