RNC Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

RNC Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,054 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, June 23rd. Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.39.

Bank of America Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE BAC opened at $49.69 on Monday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.07. The company has a market capitalization of $368.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 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.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.75%.

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.