Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. has reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 10.5%, holding 902,264 shares valued at approximately $42.7 million after selling 105,603 shares in the second quarter.
• Bank of America recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 32.75%.
• The company has introduced a share buyback program authorizing the repurchase of up to $40 billion of its outstanding shares, indicating that its board believes the shares are undervalued.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 10.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 902,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 105,603 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $42,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rainier Family Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 6,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.88.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $50.44 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $52.88. The business's fifty day moving average price is $49.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $373.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.33. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is 32.75%.

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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