OFI Invest Asset Management Sells 551,038 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• OFI Invest Asset Management reduced its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 39.2%, selling 551,038 shares and leaving them with 854,546 shares valued at approximately $40.4 million.
• Institutional ownership of Bank of America remains high, with hedge funds owning about 70.71% of the stock, while several firms like Deutsche Bank and Unisphere Establishment increased their stakes significantly in the last quarters.
• Bank of America reported a boost in its quarterly dividend to $0.28, up from $0.26, and has a stock buyback plan authorized for up to $40 billion, signaling confidence in its stock valuation.

OFI Invest Asset Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 39.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 854,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 551,038 shares during the quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management's holdings in Bank of America were worth $40,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,007,718,000 after purchasing an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1,642.5% during the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,195,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $175,057,000 after purchasing an additional 3,954,250 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $164,623,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $152,098,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Bank of America by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 8,904,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $421,564,000 after buying an additional 3,438,876 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

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 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 represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Baird R W lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.64.

Bank of America Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $48.62 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $52.88. The company has a market cap of $360.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 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. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.61 and its 200 day moving average is $45.52.

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, 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 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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