Hedges Asset Management LLC Sells 9,000 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Hedges Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 37.5%, selling 9,000 shares and now holding a total of 15,000 shares valued at $710,000.
• Bank of America recently announced a share buyback plan allowing the repurchase of up to $40 billion in outstanding shares, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.26, demonstrating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Hedges Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 37.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Bank of America by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,521,218,000 after buying an additional 803,570 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Bank of America by 45.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,007,718,000 after buying an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,981,816,000 after buying an additional 5,092,504 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Bank of America by 3.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 39,233,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,637,205,000 after buying an additional 1,413,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Bank of America by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 31,956,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,333,351,000 after buying an additional 188,638 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.39.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of BAC traded down $0.15 on Friday, reaching $50.60. The stock had a trading volume of 27,849,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,317,604. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.34. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.28. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $50.96.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.