Synovus Financial Corp Has $22.79 Million Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp has increased its stake in Bank of America by 6.7%, holding 546,080 shares valued at approximately $22.79 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Bank of America has announced a $40 billion share buyback plan, representing about 11.1% of its outstanding shares, indicating management believes its stock is undervalued.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, resulting in a yield of 2.3% and reflecting a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 546,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,243 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Bank of America were worth $22,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 13.5% during the first quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 39,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 49.9% during the first quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC now owns 15,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 5,044 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in Bank of America by 1.4% during the first quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 6,852,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,725,000 after purchasing an additional 94,158 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 12.6% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 74,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 8,351 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 808,400.0% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 8,084 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $49.4850 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $47.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.83. The firm has a market cap of $366.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.92 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. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $49.66.

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, 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.