LGT Group Foundation Sells 676,895 Shares of 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 lowered its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 24.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure 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 comprises 1.2% of LGT Group Foundation's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Bank of America were worth $87,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hayek Kallen Investment Management lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 17,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Phillip Securities cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC traded down $0.60 on Friday, reaching $47.12. 13,834,626 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,201,840. 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 stock has a market cap of $348.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $46.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.79. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $49.31.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. Bank of America's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. 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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase 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 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.