14,265 Shares in Bank of America Corporation $BAC Acquired by Hilltop National Bank

Key Points

• Hilltop National Bank acquired 14,265 shares of Bank of America, valued at approximately $675,000, during the second quarter.
• Bank of America recently declared a dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.2%.
• Analysts have upped their price targets for Bank of America, with Morgan Stanley raising theirs from $50 to $66, and several firms maintaining or upgrading buy ratings.

Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 14,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in Bank of America by 67.8% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 233.6% in the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $50.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $52.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.26. The company has a market cap of $374.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.38.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Bank of America

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.