The broader markets are getting a nice bounce on Friday after yesterday’s big dip in equities. The S&P 500 Index is up by about 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite is tracking marginal improvement.
As we head into the end of the week, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) is making headlines thanks to a big move by the “smart money.” Also, Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) and Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) are on the move following their recent earnings reports.
Here’s what you need to know.
Bank of America Corp (BAC)
BAC now has a new largest shareholder — Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B).
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire announced on Friday that it has finally pulled a trigger that it has owned since 2011, exercising warrants to buy 700 million common shares of BAC stock for $7.14 per share. The stock closed Thursday’s trading day at $24.32 per share, turning roughly $5 billion worth of shares into $17 billion.
Buffett originally bought $5 billion into BofA preferreds that paid out 6% annually, but is now opting for BAC common stock after it raised its dividend 60% to 48 cents per share — and Berkshire’s lot of commons will now pay out more annually than his lot of preferreds.
Bank of America got the green light to raise its dividend after passing the most recent round of Federal Reserve stress tests.
With the move, Berkshire will now surpass Vanguard’s 6.6% stake at about 652 million shares.
BAC stock popped about 1% on the news.
Constellation Brands (STZ)
Constellation Brands’ quarterly figures came in ahead of the mark yesterday.
The beer, wine and spirits company kicked off its fiscal 2018 with revenue of $1.9 billion for its first quarter, a 3% jump compared to the year-ago quarter. However it wasn’t enough to beat expectations of $1.95 billion.
Net income of $402.8 million was up more than 26% year-over-year, and the company’s adjusted profit of $2.34 per share was more than enough to tackle estimates for $1.98.
Net sales for beer were strong, improving 8% YOY. Moreover. Constellations Brands’ beer biz is expected to grow 9% to 11% in 2018 compared to last year.
The company also declared a quarterly dividend offering of 52 cents per Class A common stock, as well as 48 cents per Class B common stock.
STZ stock is up marginally this morning.
Nike Inc (NKE)
NKE is up solidly Friday after postingbetter-than expected earnings results Thursday.
The company’s adjusted earnings came in at 60 cents per share, which is 10 cents ahead of the 50 cents per share that analysts expected.
Revenue was also strong for the athletic apparel retailer, as Nike brought in $8.68 billion, topping the $8.63 billion that Wall Street called for.
The company’s international business was a strong point in the period, as well as its direct-to-consumer businesses, improving its sales growth.
Nike believes its fiscal 2018 will be even stronger than the last fiscal year as the company will connect at a deeper level with consumers. The company also confirmed its deal with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), consisting of a pilot where Nike will sell some of its limited-edition products through the e-commerce site.
NKE stock is up more than 6% Friday morning.
