Philadelphia Trust Co. Reduces Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Philadelphia Trust Co. has decreased its holdings in Bank of America Corporation by 16.7%, now owning 180,063 shares valued at approximately $7.51 million.
• Bank of America recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28, with a new annualized yield of 2.4%, and has authorized a significant share buyback program of $40 billion.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Bank of America's stock, with one rating it a sell, five as hold, and seventeen as buy, resulting in an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Philadelphia Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 16.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 180,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,062 shares during the quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $7,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,876,853,000 after buying an additional 17,031,143 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,985,785,000 after acquiring an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,716,318,000 after acquiring an additional 9,258,040 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC traded up $0.1450 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $48.2250. The stock had a trading volume of 11,850,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,036,074. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.79. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $49.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $357.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.31.

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 (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.41%.

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.