Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Reduces Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in Bank of America by 14.3%, now holding approximately 104.87 million shares valued at $4.38 billion.
• Bank of America recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.3%.
• The company has authorized a stock buyback plan of $40 billion, indicating management's belief that its stock is undervalued.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,871,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,566,276 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up approximately 0.5% of Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 1.39% of Bank of America worth $4,376,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after buying an additional 9,980,859 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,521,218,000 after buying an additional 803,570 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,007,718,000 after buying an additional 14,960,086 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,981,816,000 after buying an additional 5,092,504 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,716,318,000 after buying an additional 9,258,040 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Trading Up 2.5%

BAC stock traded up $1.2250 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.4850. The company had a trading volume of 45,055,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,182,988. The company has a market cap of $366.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.31. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $47.06 and a 200 day moving average of $43.86. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.66.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is 30.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BAC. TD Cowen began coverage on 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.13.

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.