DnB Asset Management AS Grows Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS has increased its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 0.4%, now owning approximately 4.34 million shares valued at $181 million.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, scheduled for distribution on September 26th, reflecting positive growth in its financial performance.
• Several brokerages downgraded Bank of America's stock rating recently, with HSBC changing its recommendation from "buy" to "hold" while setting a target price increase from $47 to $51.

DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,337,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,692 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises 0.8% of DnB Asset Management AS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. DnB Asset Management AS owned approximately 0.06% of Bank of America worth $181,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Bank of America stock traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.69. The stock had a trading volume of 40,059,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,778,700. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.08. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $50.92. 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 cap of $368.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.34.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The company's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.41%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on shares of Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.