Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Stock Position Lowered by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,427,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 435,183 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.22% of Bank of America worth $693,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. McAdam LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 94,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,742,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC opened at $39.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $305.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.11 and a 200-day moving average of $38.77. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $24.96 and a 52-week high of $44.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Cfra reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.22.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,391,986 shares of company stock worth $4,719,796,383 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.