Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Boosts Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC has increased its stake in Bank of America by 18.3%, holding 41,568 shares valued at approximately $1.735 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Bank of America announced a stock repurchase program allowing up to $40 billion in share buybacks, indicating confidence in the stock's value.
• The company has also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, up from the previous $0.26, reflecting a positive shift in its dividend strategy.

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 18.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $46.03 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.74. 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 $340.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $49.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. Argus reduced their price objective 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

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.

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