Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 158,862 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd has reduced its stake in Bank of America by 28.8%, selling 158,862 shares and now holding 392,868 shares, which represents only 0.6% of its portfolio.
• Bank of America has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28 per share, marking a dividend yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 32.75%.
• The company announced a $40 billion share buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to 11.1% of its outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 28.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 392,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 158,862 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up about 0.6% of Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Bank of America were worth $16,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hayek Kallen Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 12,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the first quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 17,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% during the first quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BAC. Truist Financial increased their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Argus cut their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:BAC traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $47.68. The company had a trading volume of 21,061,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,389,336. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $49.31. The business's fifty day moving average is $46.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $353.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.