James P. Demare Sells 148,391 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Stock

Key Points

• Insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock for approximately $6.76 million, resulting in a nearly 40% decrease in his ownership stake.
• Bank of America will increase its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, representing a 2.5% yield for shareholders.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors own about 70.71% of Bank of America, with significant recent increases in holdings by entities such as Capital World Investors and Deutsche Bank AG.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC traded down $1.62 on Friday, reaching $45.65. 52,302,841 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,054,445. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $49.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.81. The stock has a market cap of $343.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.30.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,876,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,031,143 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Bank of America by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,007,718,000 after buying an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Bank of America by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,381,126,000 after buying an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Bank of America by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,985,785,000 after buying an additional 9,980,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in Bank of America by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 39,051,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,716,318,000 after buying an additional 9,258,040 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America 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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