Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Trims Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Bank of America by 10.9%, owning 133,670 shares worth approximately $5.58 million after selling 16,326 shares.
• Bank of America recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28, providing a 2.5% yield and a payout ratio of 30.41%.
• Equity analysts have mixed opinions with one analysts rating it as a sell, while 17 analysts have assigned a buy rating, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $50.13.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. decreased its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,326 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 23.9% during 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 buying an additional 17,031,143 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Bank of America by 10.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Bank of America by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,985,785,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Bank of America by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 33,152,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,457,031,000 after purchasing an additional 9,409,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in Bank of America by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 39,051,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,716,318,000 after purchasing an additional 9,258,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.54. 36,789,035 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,800,328. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $337.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $49.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.32 and a 200 day moving average of $43.76.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

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.