Redwood Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 10,991 Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired 10,991 shares of Bank of America (BAC), valued at approximately $459,000, during the first quarter.
• Insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of BAC, resulting in a 39.91% decrease in his ownership, while insiders own only 0.30% of the company's stock.
• Bank of America announced a share repurchase plan allowing up to $40 billion for buying back its stock, alongside an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, reflecting confidence in its stock value.

Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,797,000 after acquiring an additional 226,246 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,601,000. Bridgewealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 82.2% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 37,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 17,055 shares during the period. Finally, Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 341,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. HSBC cut Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.13.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.76. 32,491,463 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,794,552. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $50.92. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $47.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.95. The company has a market cap of $375.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.