Brookmont Capital Management Lowers Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Brookmont Capital Management lowered its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,564 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises approximately 1.6% of Brookmont Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Brookmont Capital Management’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Bank of America by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,876,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,031,143 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in Bank of America by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 39,051,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,716,318,000 after purchasing an additional 9,258,040 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BAC. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Trading Down 1.2%

Bank of America stock opened at $44.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.78. The company has a market capitalization of $332.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.41%.

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.