Carlson Capital L.P. Decreases Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Carlson Capital L.P. reduced its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 76.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,000 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up 0.3% of Carlson Capital L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Carlson Capital L.P.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.5%

BAC stock opened at $50.23 on Wednesday. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $50.26. The company has a market cap of $372.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $47.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.87.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 30.41%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BAC. HSBC cut shares of Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Company 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.