Wallington Asset Management LLC Sells 87,600 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Wallington Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 32.7%, selling 87,600 shares and retaining 180,608 shares valued at approximately $7.54 million.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Bank of America, with recent price target upgrades from firms like Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Canada to $52.00 and $53.00 respectively, while the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy".
• Bank of America announced a dividend increase to $0.28 per share and initiated a share repurchase program authorizing $40 billion in buybacks, highlighting confidence in the company's stock value.

Wallington Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 32.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 87,600 shares during the period. Wallington Asset Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $7,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its position in Bank of America by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Cowen assumed coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Cfra Research increased their target price on Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.4%

Bank of America stock opened at $45.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $339.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.76. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $49.31. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 2.4%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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