Madison Asset Management LLC Has $12.31 Million Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Madison Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 294,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,706 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $12,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in 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 worth $4,785,000 after buying an additional 25,143 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 35.7% in 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. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $243,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 65.6% in the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 63,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,944,000 after acquiring an additional 24,979 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.7%

BAC opened at $48.10 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.75 and its 200-day moving average is $43.72. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.07 and a 1-year high of $49.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $362.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. 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 30.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BAC. UBS Group upped their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.03.

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.