Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Decreases Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 13.1%, now owning approximately 904,865 shares valued at about $37.76 million.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28, reflecting a 2.5% yield and raising the annualized dividend to $1.12.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus rating for Bank of America, with an average target price of $50.13.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 904,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 135,997 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for approximately 0.7% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Bank of America were worth $37,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,876,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,031,143 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Bank of America by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after buying an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Bank of America by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 33,152,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,457,031,000 after buying an additional 9,409,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 39,051,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,716,318,000 after purchasing an additional 9,258,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BAC. HSBC lowered Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Argus decreased their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.13.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $44.87. The company had a trading volume of 30,604,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,320,360. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.78. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $332.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.