Quantitative Investment Management LLC Sells 29,469 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America by 37.3%, now holding 49,447 shares valued at approximately $2.06 million.
• Bank of America announced a stock buyback program allowing the repurchase of up to $40 billion of its shares, reflecting management's view that the shares are undervalued.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, marking a rise from the previous $0.26, with a dividend yield of 2.3%.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 37.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 29,469 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,785,000 after buying an additional 25,143 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,797,000 after acquiring an additional 226,246 shares during the last quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $942,000. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 75,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,329,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value 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 represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.51. 32,852,872 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,990,027. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.31. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $47.39 and a 200-day moving average of $43.91. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $50.64.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BAC. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. Cowen assumed coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

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.