$BAC Dividend Hike Nets Berkshire $619 Million Annually Despite Stake Trim

Bank of America's ($BAC) board approved a 14% dividend increase in July, lifting the quarterly payout to $0.32 per share from $0.28, payable September 25 to shareholders of record as of September 4. The new rate pushes the forward annual dividend to $1.28 per share.
Berkshire Hathaway holds 483,394,015 BAC shares, according to CNBC, putting it on pace to collect roughly $619 million a year in dividends from the position. Bank of America has paid a dividend every year since 1991, with a 10-year dividend growth rate of about 15.6% annualized and a payout ratio of roughly 28% of earnings.
The hike came alongside a strong quarter: net income rose 27% year-over-year to $9.1 billion, EPS jumped 34% to $1.21, and revenue climbed 15% to $31.6 billion, with return on tangible common equity reaching 17%. CEO Brian Moynihan said the bank returned $8 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks in the quarter, while CFO Alastair Borthwick highlighted strong liquidity and diversified funding. Executives raised full-year operating leverage guidance to 300-400 basis points.
Despite the strong results, Berkshire's Q2 13F filing showed it sold about 30.2 million BAC shares, a 5.9% reduction worth roughly $1.7 billion at quarter-end prices. BAC remains one of Berkshire's five largest holdings, at about 8.3% of its U.S. stock portfolio, behind Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Alphabet. JPMorgan raised its price target to $68 from $62.50 while keeping an overweight rating, and UBS and Barclays both reiterated buy ratings with targets above $70, per TipRanks.