Strive Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Strive Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 30.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,218 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,007,718,000 after purchasing an additional 14,960,086 shares during the period. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $263,449,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,981,816,000 after purchasing an additional 5,092,504 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $217,979,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4,414.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,654,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,212,000 after purchasing an additional 4,550,930 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.7%

Bank of America stock opened at $50.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $372.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $50.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.15. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.75%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.39.

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.