Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $333.56 Million Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its stake in Bank of America by 7.4%, selling 639,514 shares and now holding 7,993,266 shares.
• Bank of America has initiated a $40.00 billion share buyback plan, authorizing repurchases of up to 11.1% of its outstanding shares, which indicates that the management believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company also announced an increase in its dividend to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, reflecting a 2.5% yield for shareholders.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board trimmed its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,993,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 639,514 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for about 4.9% of Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board owned about 0.11% of Bank of America worth $333,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $829,000. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,180,000. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. boosted its position in Bank of America by 121.0% during the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 33,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthShield Partners LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 120.9% in the 1st quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 15,959 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 8,734 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE BAC traded up $1.11 on Friday, reaching $46.03. The company had a trading volume of 37,117,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,639,604. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $49.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.39 and a 200-day moving average of $43.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Company 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.