Advisors Preferred LLC Invests $2.30 Million in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 55,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,303,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its stake in Bank of America by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.47. The stock had a trading volume of 24,453,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,373,284. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. 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 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $49.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is 30.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. HSBC downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.03.

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.