Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 10,159 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 512,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,159 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises about 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Bank of America were worth $20,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,437,936,000 after purchasing an additional 36,124,363 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in Bank of America by 360.9% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 37,290,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,255,514,000 after buying an additional 29,198,846 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Bank of America by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 104,030,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,502,720,000 after acquiring an additional 9,879,524 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 959.6% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 9,327,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,948,000 after acquiring an additional 8,447,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $261,923,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

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 transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 114,391,986 shares of company stock valued at $4,719,796,383. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $39.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $44.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results 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 for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This is an increase 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 2.62%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler Companies raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.22.

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.