Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Sold by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd decreased its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,289,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,070 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for about 0.6% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $53,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.39.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $50.28 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.15. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $50.92. 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. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

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

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.