Bank of America Corporation $BAC Stake Lessened by Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL decreased its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 16.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,550 shares during the period. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of BAC stock opened at $50.17 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.19. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $50.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $371.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on Bank of America and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Company 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.