True North Advisors LLC Has $3.47 Million Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• True North Advisors LLC has reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 18.3%, selling 18,572 shares in the first quarter, resulting in a total of 83,163 shares valued at approximately $3.47 million.
• Bank of America has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, representing a yield of 2.4%, up from the previous $0.26.
• Several analysts have updated their ratings for Bank of America; notably, HSBC Global Research downgraded the stock from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating.

True North Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,572 shares during the quarter. True North Advisors LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at 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 fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC traded up $1.11 on Friday, hitting $46.03. 37,117,565 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,639,604. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31. 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 $49.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The company 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 firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America 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.