Smead Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Smead Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 8.6%, now owning approximately $236.21 million worth of shares, which represents 4.0% of its total holdings.
• Bank of America announced a stock repurchase program allowing for the repurchase of up to $40 billion of its own shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, reflecting a positive change and an annualized yield of 2.2%.

Smead Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,660,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 535,374 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises 4.0% of Smead Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Bank of America worth $236,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management raised its stake in Bank of America by 4.1% in the first quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 14,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 348,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,541,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 637,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,586,000 after acquiring an additional 163,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 195.4% during the 1st quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 31,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 20,729 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.3%

BAC stock opened at $50.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $50.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.50 and a 200 day moving average of $43.94.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup boosted 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 note on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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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