Rathbones Group PLC Sells 29,037 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 2.3%, selling 29,037 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with a total of 1,218,307 shares valued at approximately $50.84 million.
• Bank of America announced a dividend increase to $0.28 per share, representing a 2.4% yield, with payments scheduled for September 26th.
• The company also initiated a $40 billion share repurchase plan, which allows repurchasing up to 11.1% of its stock, indicating a belief that its stock is undervalued.

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,218,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 29,037 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $50,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at $676,000. Trillium Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 899,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,545,000 after buying an additional 127,050 shares during the period. Capital Planning Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC now owns 20,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 3,737 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,574,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $149,162,000 after buying an additional 38,343 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 351,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,679,000 after buying an additional 62,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BAC. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Cfra Research lifted their target price on Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC stock opened at $46.15 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $46.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $341.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $49.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for 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 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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