Driehaus Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Driehaus Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 19.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,577 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,037 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $50.76 on Monday. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $50.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34. 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 (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.13.

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.

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