Why BNY Stock Price Hit a Record High Friday While Other Bank Stocks Fell

Shares of Bank of New York Mellon, now known simply as BNY (BK), hit an all-time high Friday after the bank posted better-than-expected results and raised its dividend.

The company reported second quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.51, with revenue rising 2% to $4.6 billion. Both were above estimates.

Total fee revenue increased 3% to $3.4 billion, which BNY said was primarily driven by “higher market values, net new business, higher foreign exchange revenue and higher client activity.” Investment services fees climbed 5% to $2.4 billion on increased client activity in its fixed income and equity trading business.

BNY’s net interest income fell 6% to $1.03 billion, which it explained reflected changes in its balance sheet mix.

CEO Robin Vince pointed to the fee growth and “continued expense discipline” for the solid results.

He added that following the Federal Reserve’s June stress test, the board agreed to boost the quarterly dividend to $0.47 from $0.42, beginning this quarter. The bank said that the new dividend will be paid on August 2 to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 22.

BNY shares, which were among the big gainers on the S&P 500 Friday, were up 5.1% at $64.62 in mid-afternoon trading. The stock has gained about 25% since the start of the year.

The strong performance of BNY shares stood in sharp contrast to that of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C), all of which saw their stocks decline after reporting earnings Friday morning.