AdvisorNet Financial Inc Has $957,000 Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• AdvisorNet Financial Inc reduced its holdings in Bank of America by 56.2%, now owning 20,224 shares worth $957,000 after selling 25,988 shares in the second quarter.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Bank of America, with institutional investors now holding 70.71% of the stock.
• Bank of America has initiated a $40 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating confidence in its stock value and has increased its dividend from $0.26 to $0.28 per share.

AdvisorNet Financial Inc cut its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 56.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,988 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc's holdings in Bank of America were worth $957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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 directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. HSBC lowered shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.76.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of BAC stock opened at $51.68 on Wednesday. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $52.88. The company has a market capitalization of $382.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

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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