Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $189.35 Million Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Bank of America by 2.1%, owning over 4.5 million shares, which now constitutes approximately 0.9% of its investment portfolio.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28, reflecting a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders with an annualized yield of 2.2%.
• Equity analysts have mixed views on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $50.13, despite some downgrades from previous ratings.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,537,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 91,339 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up 0.9% of Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Bank of America worth $189,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Bank of America by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 39,051,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,716,318,000 after buying an additional 9,258,040 shares in the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,449,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,981,816,000 after buying an additional 5,092,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,979,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC traded up $0.27 on Friday, reaching $50.76. 32,491,463 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 33,803,852. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $47.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $375.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $50.92.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Truist Financial upped 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 lowered Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

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.