Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Trims Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. trimmed its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,004,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 401,073 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $284,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 121.0% in the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 33,963 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 17,619 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 238,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,951,000 after buying an additional 150,299 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 1,124,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,936,000 after buying an additional 25,618 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $50.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.29 and its 200 day moving average is $45.13. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $52.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $55.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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.