Point72 Europe London LLP Lowers Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Point72 Europe London LLP reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 61.9%, selling 404,000 shares and leaving them with 249,100 shares valued at approximately $10.4 million.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, reflecting a 2.2% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 32.75%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and target prices ranging from $51.00 to $53.00 after several recent adjustments.

Point72 Europe London LLP cut its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 61.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 249,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 404,000 shares during the quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP's holdings in Bank of America were worth $10,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Bank of America by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,521,218,000 after acquiring an additional 803,570 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Bank of America by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 12.7% in the 4th 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 worth $1,981,816,000 after acquiring an additional 5,092,504 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in Bank of America by 31.1% in the 4th 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. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Bank of America by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 31,956,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,333,351,000 after acquiring an additional 188,638 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded down $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.05. The stock had a trading volume of 34,135,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,950,176. The firm's fifty day moving average is $47.77 and its 200 day moving average is $44.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $50.92. The stock has a market cap of $370.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America 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 transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BAC. Truist Financial raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Baird R W downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.39.

About Bank of America

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.