Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC cut its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 500,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 54,090 shares during the period. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $23,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,785,000 after buying an additional 25,143 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 10.1% during the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Sendero Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Bay Rivers Group lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Bay Rivers Group now owns 13,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 20,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $50.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $373.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.33 and a 200-day moving average of $45.19. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $52.88.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released 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 company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company’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 transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.88.

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.