Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Has $41.25 Million Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 988,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 366,650 shares during the quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $41,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded down $1.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $45.65. 52,302,841 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,054,445. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $49.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $343.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.30.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Bank of America's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.