BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Has $14.42 Million Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S has reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 34.1%, currently holding 345,440 shares valued at approximately $14.42 million.
• Bank of America recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, reflecting confidence in its financial performance with a payout ratio of 30.41%.
• The company authorized a $40 billion share buyback plan, allowing it to repurchase up to 11.1% of outstanding shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 34.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 345,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 178,587 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Bank of America were worth $14,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 25,143 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,797,000 after acquiring an additional 226,246 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 85,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,770,000 after acquiring an additional 8,627 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 15,716.2% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 139,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 138,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $48.0650 on Wednesday. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.31. The company's 50 day moving average price is $46.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.79. 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 $356.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BAC shares. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. HSBC downgraded Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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