Phoenix Financial Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. has sold 126,879 shares of Bank of America, reducing its position by 28%, and now holds 326,163 shares valued at approximately $13.7 million.
• Bank of America announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, reflecting a commitment to returning value to its shareholders.
• Despite a revenue miss in its latest earnings report, Bank of America posted $0.89 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' estimates, and has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 28.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 326,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 126,879 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $13,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its stake in Bank of America by 53.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. 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. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.03.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $48.17. 9,363,316 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,123,070. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.72. 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 has a market capitalization of $362.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $49.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change 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 is presently 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.