Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 0.3%, holding over 2 million shares valued at approximately $86.1 million as of its recent SEC filing.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, and initiated a $40 billion share buyback plan, suggesting confidence in its stock valuation.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Bank of America, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target set around $50.39, indicating potential for stock appreciation.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,063,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,839 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $86,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,521,218,000 after acquiring an additional 803,570 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,981,816,000 after acquiring an additional 5,092,504 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 39,233,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,637,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,716,318,000 after acquiring an additional 9,258,040 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.69. 40,059,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,778,700. The business's 50-day moving average price is $47.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $50.92. The company has a market capitalization of $368.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.34.

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 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 business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Baird R W cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, HSBC cut Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.39.

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.