Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Holdings Decreased by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 6.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,749,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 336,410 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $198,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BAC. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 7.8% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,061,000 after purchasing an additional 50,296 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Bank of America by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 158,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,640,000 after purchasing an additional 17,880 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at about $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 37.2% in the first quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,714,000 after purchasing an additional 17,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 170.5% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 238,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,951,000 after purchasing an additional 150,299 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $48.23 on Tuesday. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $49.31. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $363.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.74.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Cowen assumed coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Argus reduced their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.03.

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.