Candriam S.C.A. Has $58.12 Million Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in Bank of America by 29.7%, holding 1,392,829 shares valued at approximately $58.12 million after selling 587,524 shares in the first quarter.
• Bank of America recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, now set at $0.28 per share, reflecting a 2.3% dividend yield.
• The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a target price set at $50.13 following various rating adjustments by prominent firms.

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 29.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,392,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 587,524 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $58,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $48.0650 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $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. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $49.31. The firm has a market cap of $356.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.

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