Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 8,380 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in Bank of America by 2.0%, selling 8,380 shares, while retaining 404,071 shares total, making it the firm's 26th largest holding.
• Bank of America reported earnings per share of $0.89, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.86 and showing a 4.3% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company has announced a $40 billion stock buyback program and increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 404,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,380 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up approximately 0.6% of Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $16,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Bank of America Trading Down 3.4%

Bank of America stock traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.65. 52,302,841 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,411,248. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $49.31. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $46.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.81.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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 paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. 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%.

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.