Rafferty Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 7.8%, selling 184,391 shares during the first quarter, which leaves it with 2,170,767 shares worth approximately $90.6 million.
• Bank of America declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 to be paid on September 26th, representing a boost from the previous dividend of $0.26 and indicating a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• The bank's board has approved a $40 billion share buyback program, signifying the company's confidence in its undervalued shares and aiming to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,170,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 184,391 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $90,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Bank of America by 0.4% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,137,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,213,000 after acquiring an additional 8,154 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its position in Bank of America by 9.9% in the first quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 153,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,388,000 after acquiring an additional 13,752 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii bought a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter worth about $544,000. Old West Investment Management LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 232.9% in the first quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 71,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,977,000 after acquiring an additional 49,908 shares during the period. Finally, Ally Financial Inc. raised its position in Bank of America by 226.1% in the first quarter. Ally Financial Inc. now owns 150,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,260,000 after acquiring an additional 104,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $49.53 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.16 and a 200 day moving average of $43.82. The stock has a market cap of $366.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $49.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business'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 value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. HSBC lowered shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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