Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 335,770 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Bank of America by 5%, selling 335,770 shares, but still holds approximately 6.36 million shares, making it about 1.9% of their investment portfolio.
• Bank of America has announced a $40 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating that the company's board believes the stock is undervalued, and its quarterly dividend has increased from $0.26 to $0.28.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Bank of America, with expectations climbing from $46 to as high as $57, reflecting a positive sentiment towards the company's future performance.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,365,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 335,770 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for 1.9% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of Bank of America worth $265,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hayek Kallen Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 12,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 17,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Bank of America by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

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 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 of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.9%

Bank of America stock opened at $47.68 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $49.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. 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 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.

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