Czech National Bank Grows Stock Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,375,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 78,376 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up approximately 0.6% of Czech National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $54,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 13,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,902,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 100,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,004,000 after purchasing an additional 9,604 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Bank of America by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,941,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $395,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,827,700 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Bank of America by 35,120.0% during the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 130,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,183,000 after purchasing an additional 129,944 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BAC. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,650,481 shares of company stock worth $6,050,547,676 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $39.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.10. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $44.44. The stock has a market cap of $306.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.