Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Sells 10,550 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Bank of America by 16.8% during the first quarter, leaving them with 52,300 shares valued at $2.18 million.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.26, representing a yield of 2.2%.
• The company initiated a $40 billion stock repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 11.1% of its outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL reduced its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,550 shares during the period. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:BAC traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $50.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,273,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,537,219. The company has a market cap of $375.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $51.09. The business's 50-day moving average is $48.13 and its 200-day moving average is $44.28. 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 (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid 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 is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate 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.