Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Decreases Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI reduced its stake in Bank of America by 16.5%, selling 584,746 shares to hold approximately 2,959,762 shares, which are now valued at about $123.5 million.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, representing an annualized yield of 2.3%.
• Several analysts have recently raised their price targets for Bank of America, with Goldman Sachs setting a new target of $52.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 16.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,959,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 584,746 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises 1.0% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in Bank of America were worth $123,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.6% in the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 13.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 296,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,387,000 after acquiring an additional 34,146 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter valued at about $299,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 195,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,170,000 after purchasing an additional 40,559 shares during the period. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 84,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,285,000 after purchasing an additional 10,292 shares during the period. 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 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 approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $50.17. The stock had a trading volume of 31,674,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,777,764. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $50.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $371.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.34. 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 $48.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.19.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Bank of America's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Phillip Securities cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Baird R W cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.39.

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.