Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 42,546 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 0.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,182,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 42,546 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up about 1.2% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $718,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 585.4% in the 2nd quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Acima Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.3%

BAC opened at $52.44 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.45. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $52.88. The company has a market capitalization of $388.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $28.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.52%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.