Retirement Systems of Alabama Decreases Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,381,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,849 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $160,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 37,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 251,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,513,000 after acquiring an additional 25,549 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 66.8% during the 1st quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 8,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 3,489 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Bank of America from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bank of America from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.27.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $52.58 on Thursday. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $53.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $389.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $28.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.52%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.