Gleason Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Gleason Group Inc. lowered its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,085 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for approximately 0.7% of Gleason Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Gleason Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of America by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,437,936,000 after buying an additional 36,124,363 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Bank of America by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 57,539,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,288,347,000 after acquiring an additional 895,884 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,354,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,530,241,000 after purchasing an additional 165,070 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 21,465,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $813,983,000 after buying an additional 954,885 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 23.6% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 16,260,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $646,693,000 after buying an additional 3,109,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 12,291,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction 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 approximately $43,085,191,337.27. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,230,389 shares of company stock valued at $6,023,064,684 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. 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.com, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.47.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $42.17 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $329.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 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.