Bank of America Corporation $BAC is Junto Capital Management LP's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Junto Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Bank of America by 28.4% in the first quarter, selling over 1 million shares and now holding approximately 2.4% of its total assets in BAC.
• Several hedge funds, including Deutsche Bank AG and UBS AM, have increased their holdings in Bank of America, indicating a trend of investor confidence in the company.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28 per share and authorized a $40 billion stock repurchase program, demonstrating strong financial health and commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Junto Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 28.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,767,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,099,424 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for 2.4% of Junto Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Junto Capital Management LP's holdings in Bank of America were worth $115,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BAC. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. HSBC cut shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Cowen initiated coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.36. 40,948,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,916,207. The company has a market capitalization of $373.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, 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 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $50.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.96.

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 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 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.