Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in Bank of America by 6.7%, owning 922,890 shares after selling 65,960 shares, which makes up approximately 1.6% of its portfolio.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28, up from $0.26, reflecting a 2.4% dividend yield, with a planned share repurchase program of $40 billion.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mixed outlook for Bank of America, with one sell rating, five hold ratings, and seventeen buy ratings, resulting in an average target price of $50.13.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 922,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 65,960 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises approximately 1.6% of Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $38,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BAC. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its stake in Bank of America by 53.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus lowered their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Cfra Research raised their price objective on Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

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 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.5%

BAC opened at $46.03 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $49.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock's fifty day moving average is $46.43 and its 200-day moving average is $43.76. The company has a market capitalization of $340.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. 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. Bank of America's payout ratio is 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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