Machina Capital S.A.S. Purchases 11,858 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its stake in Bank of America by 94.6%, acquiring an additional 11,858 shares, bringing its total to 24,387 shares valued at approximately $1,018,000.
• Several brokerages have adjusted their price targets for Bank of America, with Barclays lowering it from $58.00 to $54.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Bank of America has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, and approved a share repurchase program allowing for up to $40 billion in stock buybacks.

Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 94.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,858 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,289,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,243,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,229 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Bank of America by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,381,126,000 after buying an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in Bank of America by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,876,853,000 after buying an additional 17,031,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Bank of America by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,985,785,000 after buying an additional 9,980,859 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Bank of America stock traded down $0.17 on Monday, hitting $48.28. 6,797,997 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,098,500. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $45.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $363.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. 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 current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

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

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 given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.03.

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.