Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 87,451 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,088,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 87,451 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $83,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BAC. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,502,000. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $515,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in Bank of America by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 107,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,605,000 after buying an additional 4,571 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 11,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 77,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after acquiring an additional 17,133 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.94. 2,515,348 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,028,309. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.21 and its 200 day moving average is $38.14. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $44.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $312.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $530,145,635.91. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,768,513 shares of company stock worth $2,807,216,504 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cfra reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.07.

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.