Hardin Capital Partners LLC Invests $4.88 Million in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Hardin Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 122,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,875,000. Bank of America comprises about 3.2% of Hardin Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brio Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 17,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Rollins Financial increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 441,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,879,000 after purchasing an additional 48,998 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 63,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,252 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

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

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $38.78 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.64. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $44.44. The company has a market cap of $300.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cfra restated a “sell” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded shares of 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 note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned 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.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus 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.