Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY Cuts Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY reduced its stake in Bank of America by 16.1%, holding 44,273 shares valued at approximately $1.85 million after selling 8,497 shares in the first quarter.
• Bank of America has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Bank of America, with UBS Group raising its target from $46.00 to $50.00, while Piper Sandler reduced theirs from $45.00 to $42.00.

Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,497 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY's holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 11,691,451 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,876,853,000 after buying an additional 17,031,143 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after buying an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% during 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 buying an additional 803,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% during 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 buying an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BAC. UBS Group increased their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE BAC opened at $46.03 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $46.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.76. 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 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.31. The company has a market capitalization of $340.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized 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 buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America 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 transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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