Empire Life Investments Inc. Sells 41,008 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Empire Life Investments Inc. reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 596,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 41,008 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up approximately 1.6% of Empire Life Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $24,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Bank of America by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,797,000 after purchasing an additional 226,246 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 228,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,034,000 after purchasing an additional 98,319 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 85,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,749,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 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 owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BAC. Argus cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Cfra Research upped their target price on Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $45.65 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $338.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $49.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.77.

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, topping 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 period last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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