Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Boosts Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its ownership in Bank of America by 9.7%, now holding over 6.7 million shares valued at approximately $281.19 million.
• Bank of America has announced a share repurchase plan of $40 billion, which indicates the board believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, up from the previous $0.26, reflecting a positive annualized dividend yield of 2.2%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,738,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 595,000 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for 0.5% of Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.09% of Bank of America worth $281,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Bank of America by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,007,718,000 after buying an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in Bank of America by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 39,051,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,716,318,000 after buying an additional 9,258,040 shares during the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $263,449,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,981,816,000 after buying an additional 5,092,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,979,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

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

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock traded up $0.58 on Thursday, reaching $50.64. 34,752,752 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,933,301. The firm's 50 day moving average is $47.83 and its 200-day moving average is $44.05. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $50.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $375.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34.

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

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is 30.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BAC. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.39.

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.