Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd significantly reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 49.2%, selling 940,102 shares during the first quarter.
• The financial services provider recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, signaling strong performance.
• Bank of America has an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $50.39, reflecting positive outlook among equity analysts.

Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd reduced its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 49.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 970,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 940,102 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises approximately 1.2% of Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd's holdings in Bank of America were worth $40,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC traded down $0.27 on Monday, reaching $49.50. 47,640,315 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,954,789. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.07. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $50.92. The firm has a market cap of $366.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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, 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 company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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 authorized a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.39.

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.