Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases Shares of 15,525 Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP has purchased 15,525 shares of Bank of America, valued at approximately $648,000, marking a new stake in the company according to their recent SEC filing.
• Institutional investors currently own 70.71% of Bank of America's stock, with significant increases in holdings from firms like Northern Trust Corp and Deutsche Bank AG.
• Bank of America has announced a stock repurchase program allowing for the buyback of $40 billion in shares, alongside an increase in their quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28 per share.

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 121.0% in the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 33,963 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 7.8% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,061,000 after acquiring an additional 50,296 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 37.2% in the first quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,714,000 after acquiring an additional 17,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 170.5% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 238,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 150,299 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Phillip Securities cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $50.51. The company had a trading volume of 20,498,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,908,578. The company has a market capitalization of $374.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.31. 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 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $50.64. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $47.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.91.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for 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%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. 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%. Bank of America's payout ratio is 32.75%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America 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.