Prudential PLC Cuts Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Prudential PLC lowered its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 16.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 503,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 98,902 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $21,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $46.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.74. The stock has a market cap of $341.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $49.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 30.41%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America 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.