Prudential PLC reduced its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 503,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 98,902 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $21,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Bank of America Stock Up 0.3%
Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $46.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $49.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $341.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.74.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Bank of America Increases Dividend
The business 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 $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 30.41%.
Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
BAC has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC downgraded Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on BAC
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America 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. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
About Bank of America
(
Free Report)
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.
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