LGT Group Foundation Decreases Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation has decreased its stake in Bank of America by 24.4%, reducing its holdings to approximately 2.1 million shares valued at $87.3 million.
• A substantial stock buyback plan of up to $40 billion has been approved by Bank of America's board, allowing the company to repurchase about 11.1% of its total stock.
• The firm has also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, reflecting a boost from its previous dividend of $0.26, which equates to a 2.4% yield.

LGT Group Foundation trimmed its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,092,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 676,895 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for approximately 1.2% of LGT Group Foundation's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Bank of America were worth $87,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Hayek Kallen Investment Management raised its position in Bank of America by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 12,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 1.4% in 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.8% in the first quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price target 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. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $46.15 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $49.31. The stock has a market cap of $341.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31. The company's 50 day moving average is $46.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.74.

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 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 30.41%.

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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