8,194 Shares in Bank of America Corporation $BAC Purchased by Wealthstream Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Wealthstream Advisors Inc. acquired 8,194 shares of Bank of America, valued at approximately $388,000, indicating continued institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $57.29 for Bank of America, with 21 analysts giving it a Buy rating, reflecting positive expectations for the stock.
• Bank of America recently announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share and initiated a $40 billion share buyback program, signaling confidence in its stock value.

Wealthstream Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 585.4% in the 2nd quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Acima Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BAC. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Seaport Global Securities raised their target price on Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business'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 value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.7%

BAC stock opened at $51.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company's 50 day moving average is $50.11 and its 200 day moving average is $45.82. The stock has a market cap of $379.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $52.88.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $28.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.52%.

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

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.

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