Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 35,806 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Bank of America by 41.7%, selling 35,806 shares and ending with 50,066 shares valued at approximately $2.09 million.
• Bank of America announced a buyback program authorizing the repurchase of up to $40 billion in shares, indicating that the board believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28, up from $0.26, reflecting a strong return on equity and a dividend yield of 2.2%.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 41.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 35,806 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1.9% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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 owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC stock opened at $50.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.13 and a 200-day moving average of $44.28. The company has a market cap of $374.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $50.96.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm'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. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.39.

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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