Mechanics Bank Trust Department Cuts Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Mechanics Bank Trust Department reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 26.8%, selling 10,109 shares during the second quarter, leaving them with 27,643 shares valued at approximately $1.3 million.
• Bank of America has announced a share buyback program worth $40 billion, indicating confidence from the board in the company's stock value.
• The bank's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.89, surpassing analysts' expectations, while also increasing the quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28.

Mechanics Bank Trust Department trimmed its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,109 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department's holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% during the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 67.8% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $52.03. 27,332,974 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,902,632. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $48.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.63. The company has a market cap of $385.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $52.66. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders 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 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is 32.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.82.

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.