Community Bank of Raymore Lowers Position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Community Bank of Raymore cut its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,977 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises about 4.1% of Community Bank of Raymore’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Community Bank of Raymore’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BAC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,797,000 after purchasing an additional 226,246 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 109,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,798,000 after purchasing an additional 5,462 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 47,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 6,088 shares during the period. Finally, LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BAC. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. TD Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus lowered their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE BAC opened at $47.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.76. The company has a market capitalization of $351.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $49.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released 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 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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 announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost 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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

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.