Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Bank of America by 0.5%, now owning approximately 4.45 million shares valued at about $185.8 million.
• Bank of America recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, reflecting a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
• The stock has received mixed analyst ratings, with the average price target set at $50.13, supported by 17 "Buy" ratings from research analysts.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,453,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,600 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Bank of America worth $185,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC traded up $1.2250 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.4850. The stock had a trading volume of 45,055,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,213,872. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $49.66. The company has a market cap of $366.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Bank of America's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.41%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on BAC shares. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, HSBC cut Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.