Channing Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Channing Capital Management LLC has increased its stake in Bank of America by 51.8%, acquiring an additional 83,511 shares, bringing its total holding to 244,701 shares valued at approximately $10.2 million.
• Bank of America recently announced a $40 billion share buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares, signaling that the board perceives the stock to be undervalued.
• The company has also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, an increase from the previous $0.26 dividend, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 51.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 244,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 83,511 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $10,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,785,000 after buying an additional 25,143 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,797,000 after purchasing an additional 226,246 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 3,291,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $144,646,000 after purchasing an additional 799,427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America 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 $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Baird R W lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded up $1.2250 on Friday, hitting $49.4850. The company had a trading volume of 45,055,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,182,988. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $47.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.86. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $49.66. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $366.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given 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 a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 30.41%.

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.