Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Up 1.6% After Dividend Announcement

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)'s share price was up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $48.95 and last traded at $48.90. Approximately 10,956,228 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 43,251,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.14.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Cfra Research upped their price objective on Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.03.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $365.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.74.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Bank of America by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 18,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 112,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,300,000 after acquiring an additional 11,403 shares during the period. Wealth Architects LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Architects LLC now owns 29,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its stake in Bank of America by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 32,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 5,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.