Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 42,404 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 8.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 470,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 42,404 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Bank of America were worth $18,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. McAdam LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.6% in the third quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA now owns 14,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of America by 1.2% in the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Bank of America by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SNS Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $46.75 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $29.22 and a 1-year high of $46.84. The firm has a market cap of $358.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.49 and a 200-day moving average of $40.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in 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 often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price target on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.26.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This represents a 48.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,754,272 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total value of $268,752,482.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 921,706,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,674,708,279.93. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 107,883,988 shares of company stock valued at $4,344,741,752 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.