Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Sold by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its holdings in Bank of America Corporation by 11.8% to 856,620 shares worth approximately $35.75 million during the first quarter.
• Deutsche Bank AG and GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased their stakes in Bank of America, with Deutsche Bank boosting its position by 45.1% and GAMMA increasing its holdings by an astounding 4,414.4% in the same period.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 to be paid on September 26th, and initiated a $40 billion stock repurchase program, reflecting confidence in its stock value.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co cut its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 856,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 115,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Bank of America were worth $35,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its position in Bank of America by 121.0% during the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,589,000 after buying an additional 33,963 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 7.8% during the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,061,000 after buying an additional 50,296 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter worth $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in 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 worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 17,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 170.5% during 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Bank of America stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.60. The stock had a trading volume of 27,849,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,238,896. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 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 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $50.96.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The company 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research 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 share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

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 value of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, 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 this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BAC. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. HSBC downgraded Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.39.

Bank of America Company 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.