Arvest Bank Trust Division Sells 149,597 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Arvest Bank Trust Division lessened its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 232,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 149,597 shares during the quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $10,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 0.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 148,176,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,982,863,000 after purchasing an additional 403,652 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,007,718,000 after purchasing an additional 14,960,086 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 39,233,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,637,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413,313 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 31,956,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,333,351,000 after acquiring an additional 188,638 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 16,562,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,759,000 after acquiring an additional 894,027 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $52.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $386.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.57 and a 200-day moving average of $47.90. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $54.69.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 30.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Bank of America from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Argus boosted their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Ameriprise Financial upgraded shares of Bank of America to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

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.