OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Sells 16,469 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd has reduced its stake in Bank of America by 59.7%, holding 11,124 shares worth $464,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Bank of America's quarterly earnings report indicates an EPS of $0.89, surpassing estimates, while revenue was 4.3% higher than the same quarter last year.
• The company has declared a $0.28 quarterly dividend, an increase from the previous $0.26, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lowered its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 59.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,469 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's holdings in Bank of America were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Bank of America stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.54. The stock had a trading volume of 36,789,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,800,328. The company has a market capitalization of $337.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.76. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

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 transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, 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 at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.