Umpqua Bank Boosts Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Umpqua Bank grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 74,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,499 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for about 1.1% of Umpqua Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $2,175,000. IMA Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the first quarter worth $1,453,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Bank of America by 149.9% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 12,744 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 40,508,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935,040 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 59,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,012,000 after acquiring an additional 6,416 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total value of $203,776,317.99. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 937,246,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,843,142,343.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,670,620 shares of company stock worth $4,651,681,930. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler Companies raised Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.22.

Bank of America Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE BAC opened at $38.76 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $24.96 and a 1 year high of $44.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $303.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.30 and a 200 day moving average of $38.52.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

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.