Fred Alger Management LLC Trims Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Fred Alger Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 51.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 101,241 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its stake in Bank of America by 121.0% in the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 33,963 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,061,000 after purchasing an additional 50,296 shares during the period. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 37.2% during the first quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,714,000 after buying an additional 17,619 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 170.5% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 238,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,951,000 after buying an additional 150,299 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.39.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE BAC opened at $50.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $372.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $50.92. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $48.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.15.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. 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. Bank of America's payout ratio is 32.75%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.